Health Insurance: Don't Leave Your Marriage Without It
| Author | Tiffany M. Alexander |
| Pages | 18-20 |
18 FAMILY ADVOCATE www.shopaba.org
any of the cost of services.) A high deductible is worth it if it
keeps your monthly premium low, but only if you are not
regularly seeing doctors. If you are older or if you have
multiple practitioners, prescriptions, regular tests, and lab
work throughout the year, then the insurance you need
should have a lower deductible so that insurance starts
paying for your expenses earlier in the year. is type of
coverage has a higher monthly premium, but it is oftentimes
well worth the cost of more of your services being covered by
insurance.
One thing to be aware of is that prescription coverage
typically has its own deductible or out-of-pocket threshold
separate from your premium. If you have regular prescrip-
tions, be sure to inquire about the prescription coverage and
out-of-pocket limit.
e out-of-pocket maximum is another term you will
hear about when researching your insurance options. is is
slightly dierent than the deductible. Your out-of-pocket
maximum includes both expenses related to meeting your
deductible, as well as the co-pays you pay and other smaller
items that do not apply to your deductible. Your insurance
will cover more medical services once you reach your
out-of-pocket maximum, which is dierent with every
The world of health insurance has become
more complex and more dicult to
navigate over the last few years. However,
one constant remains: It is best for you to
have health insurance. When going
through a divorce, it is vital that you are
aware of the health insurance selections available to you
based upon your medical needs and your tax bracket. ese
options should be investigated before your divorce is
nalized so that the expense of insurance is factored in when
calculating your monthly expenses, and the expenses of any
minor children, which impacts spousal and/or child support.
ere are multiple insurance options available depending
upon your network of providers, your age, your employabil-
ity with a company that has a group plan, state aid, or
coverage through a spouse’s employer plan.
Insurance Basics
If you are usually healthy and only require a doctor for
checkups, the insurance you need is more for catastrophic
coverage. is type of coverage oers a low monthly pre-
mium but a high deductible. (A deductible is the amount
you pay per calendar year before insurance begins covering
HEALTH INSURANCE
Don’t Leave Your
Marriage Without It
By TIFFANY M. ALEXANDER
Published in Family Advocate, Volume 43, Number 1, Summer 2020. © 2020 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof
may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.
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