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BY IRENE CARD AND BETSY CHANDLER
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE
Last week I received a phone call from a divorced woman who just learned that she has no health insurance and that she will have a waiting period for pre-existing conditions.
During our discussion I determined that she should have been offered health insurance benefits under the state's continuation law. When she responded, "My lawyer never told me that," I knew I had to write a column on this subject. Lawyers are experts on the law, not on health insurance. Whether you are the husband or the wife, when you are going through a divorce, you must bring up the subject of health insurance. It is of utmost importance.
You may want to talk with your health insurance agent first. If you work for a very large company, talk with the human resource department. In this particular case, the husband and wife owned a small business and they were each insured under the company small group plan.
She left the company when the divorce was finalized and he kept her on the plan for the next six months as an active employee. This is fraud. She was no longer an employee. If she had had a major claim during that six- month period, the insurance company could have determined that she wasn't an employee and refund the premiums and not pay any claims. She should have been told that she could have continued her insurance for 18 months under the New Jersey Continuation law.As it was, at the end of the six months she could have purchased her own individual coverage with no waiting period for pre-existing conditions. At the end of six months, her former husband canceled the group plan and didn't tell her. By the time she found out, the gap with no coverage was too great to allow for a new plan with no waiting period for pre-existing conditions. This is a most unfortunate case as she has major pre-existing conditions and now she is left with no protection for those illnesses for the next six months.
I suggested she go back to the attorney to see what can be done, if anything, to get the former husband to pay some of the expenses. It is important to know that when your divorce becomes final, so does your health insurance. You want to make other arrangements so that you do not find yourself without coverage.
If you work for a company with more than 20 employees, you can continue your benefits for three years. If you work for a small company with less than 20 employees you can continue your benefits for three years under the state's Continuation Law.
If you are not eligible for group benefits, you can buy individual coverage for yourself but make sure you speak with an insurance agent before your divorce becomes final.
Irene Card & Betsy Chandler are both licensed insurance professionals working at MIC Insurance Services, a health insurance services company. If you have questions relative to this column or other related topics, we invite you to call (973) 492-2828, browse our past columns on our web site at www.micinsurance.com.
