Health insurance after a divorce in Georgia

While the divorce is going on

Divorce itself is what ends coverage under COBRA, and filing doesn't count: COBRA requires a court decree of divorce or legal separation. So you can usually stay on your spouse's plan while the case is pending.¹

Many Georgia courts also issue standing orders that stop either spouse from changing or canceling insurance that covers the other spouse or the children while the case is open. Cobb County's is one example. Your county's page says whether its court has one.⁴

Find your county

COBRA: keeping your spouse's employer plan for a while

COBRA is short for the federal law that created it. It doesn't give you new insurance; it lets you stay on the same employer health plan you already have, on the same coverage, but usually at your own expense.¹

• Who can use it: a spouse or former spouse and the employee's children who were covered by the plan.¹
• How long: up to 36 months after a divorce or legal separation.¹
• The deadline to watch: you or your former spouse must notify the plan within 60 days of the divorce.¹
• Signing up: you then have 60 days to choose COBRA, counted from when your coverage ends or you get the plan's notice, whichever is later.¹
• Cost: generally the full premium, both the employee's and the employer's share, plus 2%.¹
• Which employers: private employers with 20 or more employees, and state and local governments.¹

If the employer has fewer than 20 employees

Federal COBRA doesn't apply to most employers with fewer than 20 employees. Georgia has its own continuation law for group health plans, which generally lets a covered person who's been on the plan at least 6 months keep it for the rest of the month plus 3 more months, at the same rate active members pay. Ask the insurer whether it applies to you after a divorce.^{1, 5}

Buying your own plan

If you lose health coverage because of a divorce, you can enroll in a HealthCare.gov plan outside open enrollment. You generally have 60 days, and you can also apply if you expect to lose coverage within the next 60 days. A divorce without losing coverage doesn't qualify on its own.²

Compare a marketplace plan with COBRA before you decide. Depending on your income, a marketplace plan may cost less.

Your children's coverage

• If health insurance for the children is available at a reasonable cost to either parent, the judge must order that the children be covered.³
• The children's share of the premium is added to child support and split between the parents according to their incomes.³
• Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids can meet the requirement to provide for the children's health care.³
• Uninsured costs, like copays, deductibles, braces, dental, vision and mental health care, are split between the parents by the percentages the order sets.³

Military families

A former spouse of a service member may keep TRICARE in some cases, depending on how long the marriage overlapped military service. The military divorce guide explains the 20/20/20 and 20/20/15 rules.

Related guides

• How child support works in Georgia
• Military divorce in Georgia
• How much a divorce costs in Georgia