Divorce often changes a family's health care insurance arrangements.
When a couple divorces, the family's health insurance coverage may need to change. For example, one spouse may have provided all the medical benefits for herself and her spouse, as well as their children, during their marriage. As part of the couple's divorce case, the court will hear related support issues. The Michigan circuit courts, assisted by the friend of the court (FOC), can make specific orders about health insurance coverage.
Health Insurance Information
As part of their divorce proceedings, both spouses must disclose current information about their employer-provided health insurance benefits or individual plans to the FOC. The FOC uses this information when making any recommendations to the court about support issues.
Health Insurance for Children
The court can include health insurance as part of a Michigan uniform support order determining each party's support obligations following the divorce. The court can require one or both parents provide health care insurance for the children.
Child's Health Insurance Enforcement
If the court orders a parent to buy available group health plan coverage for a child but the parent fails to comply, the parent's employer will receive a qualified medical child support order. Michigan law allows the FOC to then send a national medical support notice, which instructs the employer to enroll the child in the available group health plan. The employer can deduct the cost of the child's insurance premiums from the parent's wages.
Child's Uninsured Health Expenses
The divorcing couple's uniform child support order can also determine what will happen if their child incurs any uninsured health expenses in the future. The order allocates a percentage of the expenses to each parent.
Other Spouse's Health Coverage
While parents can generally buy dependent coverage for their children if available through their employers, they cannot always cover ex-spouses. For example, the University of Michigan requires its employees to notify the university's employee benefits office within 30 days of divorce and accordingly terminates the ex-spouse's coverage at the end of the month during which the couple finalizes their divorce. The ex-spouse may be eligible for COBRA coverage---beyond that point, an individual ordered to provide health insurance for an ex-spouse may have to buy private coverage after their divorce.
Tags: support order, their divorce, available group, available group health, care insurance, child support, child support order
