After divorce, a lot of people are worried about losing their valuable property or the custody of the beloved children. Yet one of the things that people may not think of post-divorce is the future of their health insurance. A new study by the University of Michigan recently announced that about 65,000 American women become uninsured every year because of their divorces.
The Wall Street Journal writes that 17 percent of all divorcees are uninsured within the next six months and others have to switch from private insurances to public ones within a matter of weeks. The study says that a total of 115,000 women lose their insurance after divorce but most of these ladies are able to obtain government insurance which keeps them from living life without the financial protection that they need.
Divorced women who were covered as dependents on their husband’s health insurance almost always lost their health insurance upon the dissolution of their marriage about 23 percent of those who divorced their spouses lost their insurance about six months after the divorce was finalized. While some women are able to obtain the government coverage that they need, some ladies in the middle class are in a difficult spot. This is because they are not in a position where they can afford private health care, but they do not qualify for public health care because they make too high of a salary.
Last year, about 48.6 million people were uninsured in the United States, according to the Census Bureau. As you consider your divorce, evaluate how this will affect your health insurance. Talk with your San Fernando Valley family attorney to make a plan that you can implement if you lose your health insurance after a divorce. By planning ahead, you may find a suitable alternative that will allow you to make the transition to singleness while still insured.
