A Georgia court can order one spouse to keep health insurance in force for the other after the divorce, and that obligation is alimony.
It Is Alimony
In Roberts v. Roberts, 229 Ga. 689 (1972), a decree required the husband to keep hospitalization insurance for his former wife “equal to what he now has in force.” When his employer’s plan dropped her at the divorce, the Georgia Supreme Court held he had to buy her equivalent coverage, because “[h]ospitalization insurance for the wife is an element of support, and is alimony.” Premiums owed for an indefinite time are periodic alimony, Sapp v. Sapp, 259 Ga. 238 (1989), so it ends at death or remarriage unless the decree says otherwise.
If the Coverage Lapses
A spouse who is ordered to carry insurance and does not becomes the insurer. In Roberts, the husband paid the $401.25 hospital bill the policy would have covered. In Blair v. Blair, 272 Ga. 94 (2000), the decree required the husband to “maintain health insurance for the wife equivalent to the coverage formerly provided by Delta Airlines.” After her continuation coverage ran out, he paid only for a conversion policy her expert called “garbage.” The Supreme Court made him pay for an equivalent policy going forward, and for the past: “insofar as the party fails to do so, he or she becomes a self-insurer to the extent the medical expenses would have been covered by the ordered policy.”
What the Decree Cannot Do
A divorce decree does not keep you on your former spouse’s employer plan. Staying on a group plan for a time is governed by federal law, COBRA, 29 USC 1161 and following; in Blair it lasted three years. So the protection is a decree requiring equivalent coverage or the money to buy it. A child’s premium is a child support matter, and uncovered medical bills are in our post on who pays them after a divorce.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!