Quick answer
If you’re covered through your spouse’s job, a divorce usually ends that coverage. You can keep the same plan for up to 36 months through COBRA, but you’ll pay the full premium plus up to 2%. Your other options are your own employer’s plan, a Marketplace plan with a special enrollment period, or Medicaid if your income qualifies. Children can stay on either parent’s plan, and a court can order a parent to cover them.
Key takeaways
- Divorce or legal separation lets you keep your ex-spouse’s job-based plan through COBRA for up to 36 months.
- You or your ex must tell the plan about the divorce within 60 days, or you can lose your COBRA rights.
- Losing coverage because of a divorce gives you 60 days to buy a Marketplace plan. A divorce without losing coverage usually doesn’t.
- A Qualified Medical Child Support Order can require a parent’s employer plan to cover a child.
- If your marriage lasted at least 10 years, you may get premium-free Medicare Part A based on your ex-spouse’s work record.
On this page
When your coverage ends
An employer plan covers you as a spouse only while you’re married. When the divorce is final, you lose eligibility. The exact end date is set by the plan, so ask HR or check the summary plan description.
A legal separation may or may not end your coverage, depending on the plan and, for insured plans, state law. And if your spouse drops you from the plan in anticipation of a divorce, federal COBRA rules ignore that move, so you keep your right to COBRA once the divorce happens. If you’re still married and worried about being dropped, see can a spouse be dropped from health insurance while still married.
Your options
COBRA
COBRA lets you keep the exact plan you had through your ex-spouse’s employer, with the same doctors and deductible, for up to 36 months after a divorce or legal separation. It applies to private employers with 20 or more employees and to state and local governments. Many states have mini-COBRA laws for smaller employers.
- Notice: you or your ex must notify the plan within 60 days of the divorce, the loss of coverage or the date you were told about this duty, whichever is latest. Do it in writing.
- Election: you then get at least 60 days to choose COBRA.
- Cost: up to 102% of the full premium, including the part the employer used to pay. That can be several hundred dollars a month or more.
See COBRA health insurance for how it works and what it costs.
Your own employer’s plan
Losing coverage lets you join your own job’s plan outside open enrollment. You usually have 30 days to sign up.
A Marketplace plan
Losing coverage because of a divorce opens a special enrollment period that starts 60 days before and ends 60 days after you lose coverage. Your premium tax credit will be based on your own household and income after the divorce, which may make a Marketplace plan much cheaper than COBRA. See health insurance for individuals and qualifying life events.
A divorce by itself, without losing coverage, doesn’t qualify you in most states. About a dozen state-run Marketplaces offer an extra special enrollment period for divorce, but only to people who already have a plan through that Marketplace.
Medicaid
If your income drops after the divorce, you or your children may qualify for Medicaid or CHIP. You can apply any time. See health insurance for low-income families.
A short-term plan
A short-term plan can bridge a short gap, but it can turn you down for health conditions and doesn’t cover everything an ACA plan does. See short-term health insurance.
Covering your kids
Children can stay on either parent’s plan until 26, whether or not the parents are married. Many divorce decrees spell out which parent provides health insurance and how uncovered medical bills get split.
A court or state child support agency can issue a Qualified Medical Child Support Order. It requires the parent’s employer plan to enroll the child right away, without waiting for open enrollment, even if the child doesn’t live with that parent or isn’t claimed as a tax dependent.
If both parents cover a child, the plans coordinate which one pays first. With divorced parents, that often follows the court order or the custody arrangement. See the birthday rule and health insurance for children.
Taxes and the premium tax credit
If you had a Marketplace plan, report the divorce to the Marketplace as soon as possible. Your household, income and tax credit all change.
If you and your ex were on the same Marketplace plan during the year, you’ll each have to split the premiums and advance credit for the months you were married when you file Form 8962. You can agree on any split, as long as you use the same percentage for everything. If you don’t agree, it’s 50-50. For a child, the parent who claims the child as a dependent claims the tax credit for the child’s coverage. See do you have to pay back your premium tax credit.
Medicare after a divorce
If you were married for at least 10 years and you’re now single, you may qualify for premium-free Medicare Part A at 65 based on your ex-spouse’s work record, as long as your ex is eligible for Social Security. Social Security can tell you whether you qualify.
Federal employees and military families
- Federal employees: a former spouse may be able to keep Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage under the spouse equity rules if they haven’t remarried before 55 and are entitled to part of the employee’s annuity. Others can get temporary continuation of coverage for up to 36 months at the full premium plus 2%.
- Military: under TRICARE’s 20/20/20 rule, a former spouse married at least 20 years to a service member with at least 20 years of service, overlapping by at least 20 years, can keep TRICARE as long as they don’t remarry or get employer coverage.
A quick checklist
- Before the divorce is final, get the plan’s summary plan description and find out when coverage ends.
- Put health coverage for you and the kids in the settlement, including who pays premiums and uncovered bills.
- Compare COBRA with a Marketplace plan based on your new income.
- Notify the plan in writing within 60 days.
- Enroll in your new coverage so it starts the day after the old coverage ends.
- Report the divorce to the Marketplace if you have a Marketplace plan.
If you lost coverage because a spouse died, see what to do if your spouse died and you were on their plan.
Need your own plan after a divorce? Compare plans and prices by ZIP code.
Frequently asked questions
Can I stay on my ex-spouse’s health insurance after a divorce?
Not as a spouse. You can usually keep the same plan through COBRA for up to 36 months, paying the full premium plus up to 2%.
Is divorce a qualifying life event for health insurance?
Yes, if the divorce makes you lose coverage. That opens a 60-day special enrollment period for a Marketplace plan and usually 30 days for your own employer’s plan.
How long do I have to get insurance after a divorce?
You have 60 days after losing coverage for a Marketplace plan, usually 30 days for an employer plan, and at least 60 days to elect COBRA once you get the notice.
Who has to provide health insurance for the kids after a divorce?
Whoever the divorce decree or child support order names. A Qualified Medical Child Support Order can require a parent’s employer plan to cover the children.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor: An employee’s guide to health benefits under COBRA (PDF)
- HealthCare.gov: Special Enrollment Period
- U.S. Department of Labor: Qualified Medical Child Support Orders
- IRS: Instructions for Form 8962
- Medicare Interactive: Premium-free Part A based on a spouse’s work history
- healthinsurance.org: Divorce, death or legal separation special enrollment period
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Talk with your divorce attorney about health coverage in your settlement. Last reviewed September 2026.