Hi, I have been separated for over 2 years but have kept my spouse on my health insurance through work. My spouse is really dragging their feet about signing off on things and I fear this will go on forever. Am I able to drop them from my insurance coverage if we are still legally married - but separated? They are not employed.
My guess is that you will not be able to drop her, unless you can prove she has alternate coverage, at least until you are divorced. Even if the company did allow you to drop her, you could still be held liable for her medical care under the doctrine of necessaries, which hold that a spouse can be made to pay for the other’s necessary items, healthcare or otherwise.
I am not a lawyer, this is just my opinion as a separated spouse.
You need to talk to your HR dept. I learned from a friend on your
Similar situation, that he was able to take his wife off
His health insurance, since, even though they are not divorced, but
Legally separated, since both parties live in different homes, so
This is a question for your HR department. Good luck!
While your HR department may allow you to remove your spouse from your insurance, Erin’s advice about the doctrine of necessaries is still good law in NC, and I generally advise clients to keep a spouse insured if they can afford to until divorce or an agreement stating otherwise is entered.
My wife is on my medical insurance however her employer provides medical insurance. Can I drop her since she has the opportunity to maintain her own through her employment?
You should talk with her about obtaining her own insurance through her employer. The doctrine of necessaries applies even if she has other insurance available to her
Temporary child support order assumes that spouse continues to buy health insurance for me and kids but there is no agreement or order that says he has to.
He dropped me from his health insurance policy over a year ago and I had to purchase a private individual high deductible plan. I had some medical concerns and some very expensive tests with more expensive tests coming up. I’ll probably hit the deductible pretty soon. Does the doctrine of necessities require that he help out with some/any of these? How is his share (if any) determined?
How does the affordable Care Act play into this scenario? Ex purchases insurance for the kids at work for a very reasonable price. This impacts my eligibility for the new health care subsidies and more than doubles my premium and increases my deductible.
AND he is at least $1,000 behind in his share of child’s medical expenses since the “temporary” child support order and won’t respond to communications from me much less ante up.
The doctrine of necessaries only means that a third party (i.e., doctor, hospital) may be able to go after one spouse for the other spouse’s medical bills. It does not divide these expenses between the spouses or otherwise guarantee payment.
I do not know of any cases that have dealt with the doctrine of necessaries since the affordable care act came into effect.