Going through a divorce is stressful enough without worrying about losing your health insurance. But here's the reality: if you've been on your spouse's employer plan, that coverage doesn't automatically continue after the divorce papers are signed. The good news? You have options, and if you understand the rules and timelines, you can avoid gaps in coverage that could leave you vulnerable to massive medical bills.
Let's walk through exactly what happens to your health insurance after divorce, how to protect yourself and your children, and which options will save you the most money while keeping you covered.
Understanding Your Special Enrollment Rights
Here's something that confuses a lot of people: divorce itself doesn't automatically qualify you for a special enrollment period to buy marketplace health insurance. What matters is whether you lose coverage because of the divorce. If you were on your spouse's plan and you're getting kicked off due to the divorce, that loss of coverage triggers a 60-day special enrollment period.
This 60-day window starts from the date you lose coverage or the date of your divorce, whichever comes first. You can actually apply for marketplace coverage up to 60 days before you expect to lose coverage and up to 60 days after. This gives you flexibility to shop around and compare plans without rushing into a decision the day your coverage ends.
Important: if you already had your own health insurance through work or another source and you're keeping it after the divorce, you won't get a special enrollment period. In most states that use HealthCare.gov, simply getting divorced while maintaining existing coverage doesn't give you the right to switch plans outside open enrollment. A handful of state-run exchanges do offer this flexibility, but they're the exception, not the rule.
COBRA: Your Bridge Coverage Option
COBRA continuation coverage is like a safety net that lets you stay on your ex-spouse's employer health plan after divorce. If the employer has 20 or more employees, federal law requires them to offer you COBRA coverage for up to 36 months. That's three full years, which is significantly longer than the 18 months typically offered for job loss.
But here's the catch: COBRA is expensive. You'll pay the full premium that the employer was paying on your behalf, plus up to 2% for administrative costs. In 2025, average COBRA premiums run about $584 per month for individual coverage and can climb to $1,200 to $2,000 for family plans. When you were married, your spouse's employer was probably covering 70-80% of that cost. Now it's all on you.
The COBRA timeline is critical. You or your ex-spouse must notify the plan administrator within 60 days of the divorce. Then the plan has 14 days to send you the official COBRA election notice. Once you receive that notice, you have 60 days to decide whether to elect COBRA coverage. Miss these deadlines and you could forfeit your right to continue coverage entirely.
So when does COBRA make sense? If you have ongoing medical treatment with specific doctors you want to keep seeing, COBRA lets you maintain that continuity without switching networks. If you've already met your deductible for the year, staying on the same plan through COBRA means you won't have to start over. And if you only need a few months of coverage while you transition to a new job with benefits, COBRA can bridge that gap.
Marketplace Plans: Often Your Best Value
For most people coming out of a divorce, Affordable Care Act marketplace plans offer better value than COBRA. These plans cover the same 10 essential health benefits required by law, and depending on your income, you might qualify for premium tax credits that dramatically reduce your monthly costs.
Here's the key advantage: subsidy eligibility is based on your household income, and after divorce, your household is just you (and any children living with you, not your ex-spouse's income). If you're suddenly a single-income household, you may qualify for subsidies that weren't available when you filed taxes jointly. These subsidies can cut your premium by hundreds of dollars per month.
When you shop on the marketplace during your special enrollment period, you'll need proof of your divorce and loss of coverage. This typically means your divorce decree and a letter from the insurance company showing your coverage end date. Upload these documents within 30 days of applying to avoid delays in getting your coverage approved.
The trade-off with marketplace plans is that you might have to switch doctors if your current providers aren't in the new plan's network. Before you enroll, check whether your preferred doctors and hospitals participate. If you take prescription medications, confirm they're covered on the plan's formulary. It's worth spending an hour researching this now rather than discovering problems later when you need care.
Protecting Your Children's Coverage
Your divorce doesn't affect your children's right to health insurance. Kids can stay on either parent's plan, or even both plans under coordination of benefits rules. What changes is who pays for it and how that cost gets divided.
Every state requires divorced parents to provide health insurance for their children, typically until age 18 or 21, depending on state law. During divorce proceedings, courts look at which parent has access to better, more affordable coverage. Even if you're the non-custodial parent, you might be ordered to carry the children on your work plan if it offers comprehensive benefits at a reasonable cost.
The cost of children's premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses gets divided between parents based on each parent's proportional share of the combined income. If you earn 40% of the combined parental income, you'll typically be responsible for 40% of medical costs. This is spelled out in your child support order.
If neither parent has employer coverage, you have options. Your children may qualify for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) based on household income. These programs provide comprehensive coverage at little or no cost. Alternatively, you can purchase a family plan on the marketplace during your special enrollment period. Just remember that having the children on your plan affects subsidy calculations, so run the numbers both ways to see what's most affordable.
Negotiating Coverage in Your Settlement
Health insurance should be a major part of your divorce negotiations, not an afterthought. If your spouse has great employer coverage and you don't, ask them to pay for COBRA coverage for a year or two as part of the settlement. The cost to them is zero since you're paying the premiums, but having that obligation in writing protects your access to coverage.
For children's coverage, get specific in the agreement about who maintains insurance, what happens if that parent loses their job, and how you'll handle uncovered medical expenses. Include language about notification requirements if either parent's insurance situation changes. The clearer you are now, the fewer fights you'll have later when someone needs medical care.
Consider life insurance too. If your ex-spouse is paying alimony or child support, require them to maintain a life insurance policy with you or the children as beneficiaries. If they die unexpectedly, that money replaces the support payments you were counting on.
Taking Action: Your Next Steps
Don't wait until the last minute to figure out your health insurance after divorce. Start researching your options as soon as you know divorce is happening. Get quotes from the marketplace, calculate what COBRA would cost, and if you're employed, find out when you can enroll in your employer's plan.
Mark your calendar with critical deadlines: 60 days to notify the plan administrator about your divorce, 60 days to elect COBRA after receiving the notice, and 60 days from losing coverage to enroll in a marketplace plan. Missing these windows can leave you uninsured and on the hook for massive medical bills if something goes wrong.
Finally, get professional help if you need it. A licensed health insurance agent can walk you through marketplace options at no cost to you. They're paid by the insurance companies, not by you, and they can help you understand which plan offers the best value for your specific medical needs and budget. Divorce is complicated enough. Your health insurance doesn't have to be.
