Why Would I Have Two Plans

There are a few different reasons why someone might have two health insurance plans:

• You are an adult or child under 26 who has coverage through your parents and your own employer.
• You are a married couple, and both of you have health insurance through your own employers.
• You are under 26 years old with married parents who have separate health plans, and both parents list you as a dependent under their plans.
• You are under 26 years old with divorced parents, and both parents list you as a dependent under their separate plans.
• Youre under 26, married and covered by your spouses plan and your parents plan.
• You have a health insurance plan and also receive Medicaid coverage.

If I’m On My Spouse Or Partner’s Health Insurance What Happens To My Health Insurance If Our Marital Status Is Terminated Early

You may still be eligible for coverage under your spouse or partner’s health insurance. This is because a court may, and usually does, include conditions in an order for early termination of marital status. The conditions almost always include an order that one spouse or partner maintain the existing or comparable health insurance coverage for the other party or partner or, if insurance is not maintained or obtainable, pay medical expenses that would have been covered by insurance. Fam. Code § 2337.

Courts do this because an order terminating marital status would erase all the benefits and rights that accrue to a former spouse or partner under the law on the basis of his or her status.

Public Service Health Care Plan

As a member of the Public Service Health Care Plan you can access your account using the internet and Sun Lifes mobile application.

The following features are available on the Sun Life Member Services website and through the my Sun Life Mobile app:

Features only available on the website:

Features only available on the mobile app:

• Submit claims for paramedical sessions of an hour or less.
• Add your PSHCP benefit card to your iPhones Apple Wallet.
• Activate the Touch ID sign-in feature to log in securely.

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Keep Enrollment Cutoff Dates In Mind

If you want coverage sooner than later, plan to enroll as soon as possible after youre married.

• If you enroll through Washington Healthplanfinder, the deadline is the 23rd of themonth for coverage on the first day of the following month.
• If you enroll directly from Kaiser Permanente, youll have coverage on the first of the month if you make your plan selection by the last day of the previous month.
• If you wait until the end of your 60-day qualifying-event window to enroll in a plan, youll have coveragejust not as quickly as you might like or need.

Domestic Partnerships And Health Insurance

Some cities, states, and private employers offer domestic partner benefits to their employees. And before same-sex marriage became legal, several states had passed laws creating domestic partnerships and/or civil unions which allowed same-sex couples to register their unions in order to obtain the same or similar state marriage benefits that married couples enjoyed. Since the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country, many states have eliminated civil unions and domestic partnerships. However, a handful of states continue to allow them.

If you’re in a domestic partnership state, you might be able to obtain insurance for your partner. A majority of the country’s largest corporations offer domestic partner benefits. You can find a list of Fortune 500 companies that provide domestic partner benefits, as well as other information on benefits, on the Human Rights Campaign website. You can also contact your human resource director to see if your employer offers health insurance to domestic partners.

Even if your employer does provide domestic partner health benefits, federal law does not recognize domestic partners as spouses for tax purposes. Tax law treats any premium you pay to cover your domestic partner to be taxable income, not a pre-tax deduction from income as it is when the employee is covering a spouse.

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Primary And Secondary Insurance Rules

When you have two forms of health insurance coverage, your primary insurance pays the first portion of the claim up to your coverage limits. Your secondary insurance may pick up some or all of the remaining costs.

However, you still might be responsible for some cost-sharing. For example, its a mistake to think your secondary insurance will kick in and cover the deductible attached to your primary insurance. Instead, you likely will be responsible for covering the deductible.

You also may be responsible for copay and coinsurance fees.

Money And Marriage: How Getting Married Changes Your Finances

It’s not just the cost of the wedding, or the cards filled with cash and checks that pile up at the reception. The legal act of getting married, as opposed to just living together, can have some immediate impacts on your financial situation for better or worse. Take a look at this rundown of financial considerations you’ll be facing after the altar.

• How marriage impacts debt and liability

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What Happens To Health Insurance In A Divorce Or Legal Separation Proceeding

Posted by Jaime Kissinger | Nov 05, 2018 | 0 Comments

If you are going through a divorce or legal separation, you likely have given some thought to some of the big issues, including support, property division, and child custody, but have probably failed to think about your health insurance. However, the more you know about health insurance, the better prepared you will be while going through the divorce or legal separation process, and the better prepared you will be when your divorce or legal separation is finalized.

Do You Have Employer Coverage But Your Spouse Doesnt

• If your employer covers dependents, you can enroll your spouse in your employer plan.
• You can also consider individual and family plans for your spouse or even for your whole family. These plans are offered direct from organizations like Kaiser Permanente or through the states exchange marketplace, Washington Healthplanfinder. You might find a plan better suited to you both or one that costs less than your employer coverage.

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What Is The Difference Between Primary And Secondary Health Insurance

When a member has double insurance, his or her individual circumstances determine which insurance is primary and which is secondary. Following are some examples of how this might work:

• A married couple– A wife has a health plan with her employer, but her husbands health plan also covers her. In this case, the wifes employer is the primary insurer and the spouses health plan is secondary.
• A child under 26– The Affordable Care Act lets children stay on their parents health plan until they turn 26. That could result in a child having her own health plan through an employer while remaining on the familys plan. In that case, the childs health plan is primary and the parents plan is secondary.
• Parents have separate plans and a child is on both plans– In this situation, the so-called birthday rule applies. Whichever parent has the earlier birthday in a year is considered the primary health plan and the other spouse is secondary. Its not which parent is older. Instead, its which one has the earliest birthday in a calendar year.
• Medicare and a private health plan Typically, Medicare is considered primary if the worker is 65 or older and his or her employer has less than 20 employees. A private insurer is primary if the employer has 20 or more employees.

Should I Consider Secondary Health Insurance Coverage

Some people think in terms of primary insurance vs. secondary insurance. But the two types of insurance can complement one another.

For example, Mordo says Medicare beneficiaries can benefit from having both Medicare and a supplemental policy.

There are great advantages to that because the supplemental policy picks up whatever Part A and Part B does not cover, he says. That is a huge savings on potential out-of-pocket cost for a Medicare beneficiary who might be on a fixed income.

Its also true that dual health plans can reduce your health care costs if the secondary insurance picks up some medical costs that your primary plan doesnt cover.

However, Mordo believes the downsides of having two health insurance policies usually outweigh any benefits.

The disadvantage is the outlay in additional premiums, he says. You’re paying for two plans, and the benefit is minuscule.

Other downsides to having two health plans include:

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How Marriage Impacts Debt And Liability

One more important financial thing that comes along when you tie the knot: liability. If your spouse declares bankruptcy, cheats on your joint tax return, hurts someone in a car accident or a bar fight, or loses a lawsuit, your joint assets could be at risk. And if he or she racks up certain kinds of debt, creditors might be able to come after you to pay it off.

But before you file for divorce or annulment based on the complicated information above, keep in mind that besides its personal and social benefits, marriage can offer other significant financial protections in the future, such as no federal tax obligations in the event of your spouse’s death. And if you’re married, you’ll automatically inherit your spouse’s assets, even if there’s no legal will. You can count on your spouse’s assets till death do you part.

Implications For Health Savings Accounts

If you have a Health Savings Account or are interested in having one, you’ll want to be aware of the implications of having separate health insurance plans.

In 2021, you can contribute up to $7,200 to a health savings account if you have “family” coverage under an HSA-qualified high deductible health plan . Family coverage means at least two members of the family are covered under the plan . If you have an HSA-qualified plan under which you’re the only insured member, your HSA contribution limit in 2021 is $3,600.

It’s important to understand that although HDHPs can provide family coverage, HSAs cannot be jointly owned. So even if your whole family is on one HDHP and making the family contribution amount to a single HSA, it will be owned by just one family member. If you and your spouse want to have your own HSAs, you can each establish one and split the total family contribution between the two accounts .

If one of you has an HSA-qualified plan and the other has a health insurance plan that isn’t HSA-qualified, your HSA contribution will be limited to the self-only amount.

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How Does Cobra Work

COBRA requires health plans to offer continuation coverage to you or your spouse, but not registered domestic partners, on the occurrence of specific events that would otherwise result in termination or reduction of your plan benefits. ERISA §§ 601-609 29 U.S.C §§ 1161-1169.

Under COBRA, your insurance is limited to three years and must be applied for within 60 days of entry of your judgment of dissolution or legal separation. 29 U.S.C. §§ 1162, 1165.

Your spouse’s employer is not required to subsidize your insurance but rather can charge you 102 percent of the cost. 29 U.S.C. § 1162. This enhanced cost, as well as the cost of nonsubsidized health insurance after COBRA coverage ends, is a factor that should be considered in your post-dissolution needs.

If you are the covered employee, it is important to notify your employer of the entry of your dissolution or legal separation judgment so that the commencement of your spouse’s eligibility for COBRA coverage can be triggered.

Employers Often Bear Costs

But many employers do pay the lion’s share of the cost to add family members, even though they’re not required to do so. In 2020, the average total premiums for family coverage under employer-sponsored plans was $21,342, and employers paid an average of nearly 74% of that total cost.

But the amount the employers paid varies considerably depending on the size of the organization smaller firms are much less likely to pay a significant portion of the premium to add dependents and spouses to their employees’ coverage.

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Welcome To The Age Of The Insurance Card Marriage

Forget green cards. A growing number of Americans are, according to the Los Angeles Times, getting hitched to get health insurance.

Some people marry for love, some for companionship, and others for status or money. Now comes another reason to get hitched: health insurance.

In a poll released today, 7% of Americans said they or someone in their household decided to marry in the last year so they could get healthcare benefits via their spouse.

“It’s a small number but a powerful result, because it shows how paying for healthcare is reflected not only in family budgets but in life decisions,” said Drew E. Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which commissioned the survey as part of its regular polling on healthcare.

…What surprised researchers was that such costs had become a factor in marriage decisions. “We should have asked about divorce,” said Altman, joking.

Those who cited health insurance as a factor in deciding to marry tended to have modest incomes. About 6 in 10 were in households making less than $50,000 a year, said Mollyann Brodie, who directs Kaiser’s opinion research. They also were younger, with 4 in 10 between 18 and 34.

Maybe they should have asked about divorce. They’d have found that at least some people stay married for the sake of health insurance.

Whether people get married or stay married for the sake of health insurance, who can blame them?

And now, the Michigan Supreme Court ruling only underscores the importance.

Can We Marry Just For Health Insurance Reasons October : 48 Am Subscribe

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How Having Multiple Health Insurance Policies Works

Having multiple health insurance policies doesnt mean you get reimbursed twice for a doctors visit or two bottles of medication. If you have more than one plan, the total amount that your plans pay will never exceed 100% of the cost. Its important here to understand the difference between primary versus secondary insurance.

If you have more than one health plan, coordination of benefits is the process that decides which insurance pays first for a claim. Heres where primary versus secondary insurance comes in:

• Primary insurance: the insurance that pays first is your primary insurance, and this plan will pay up to coverage limits. You may owe cost sharing.
• Secondary insurance: once your primary insurance has paid its share, the remaining bill goes to your secondary insurance, if you have more than one health plan. Your secondary insurance may cover part or all of the remaining cost.

Note that both the primary and secondary insurance will cover up to plan limits. After the secondary insurance has paid its share, you may be responsible for any remaining amount that wasnt covered. So, even if you have multiple health insurance policies, you may still have leftover out-of-pocket medical costs.

If youre concerned about your out-of-pocket costs, taking the time to shop and compare health plans may help. eHealths plan finder tool makes it easy to compare plan costs like premiums, deductibles, and copayments side by side.

Are There Any Protections Available To Me If I Am No Longer A Qualified Dependent On My Spouse Or Partner’s Health Insurance

Some federal and state laws offer protection, including the following:

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