Divorce Causes Massive Loss of Private Health Insurance Coverage for Women

 Posted on November 28, 2012 in Divorce

According to Science Codex, the University of Michigan will publish a new study next month in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior regarding the rate at which women lose private health insurance coverage following divorce. Annually, the study estimates that 115,000 women lose their private health insurance as the direct result of the divorce, and that this loss is not always temporary; the overall rate of women’s health insurance coverage remains lower up to two years following divorce.

While some women are able to resort to public insurance programs for coverage in these situations, about 65,000 women are left completely without any source of health insurance. Typically, it is middle-income women who cannot maintain their former sources of private health insurance, either because they no longer qualify for coverage under their former husbands’ policies, or they can no longer afford the premiums that they previously had been paying after the divorce. For those women who formerly were covered by their husbands’ policies, up to a quarter of these women were still without any insurance coverage six months following their divorces. These women, who often have moderate incomes, don’t make enough to pay for hefty insurance premiums, but make too much to qualify for low-income public health insurance programs.

These figures can be particularly frightening if you have an ongoing medical condition or if you take prescription medication on a regular basis. If you are facing a divorce and are concerned about your ability to maintain health insurance following your divorce, there are a variety of options that may be available to you. With the help of an experienced Geneva, Illinois divorce attorney, you can explore these options and work toward the alternative that best suits you and your healthcare needs.