25 Oct I’m getting a divorce. Can my wife go on Medicaid?

Q. We’re getting a divorce. My wife doesn’t work but I do. I pay a lot for health insurance through my paychecks, and it would be less if I don’t have to pay for “family” coverage. Without a job, I’m thinking she can get Medicaid. Would that be a way to save money for me?
— Trying to save

A. There’s a lot to consider here.

The answer will depend in part on the status of your divorce proceeding.

“Once a divorce action has commenced, the parties are obligated to maintain existing insurance coverages – including but not limited to health insurance coverage – while the divorce is pending, absent a court order permitting the coverage to be terminated,” said Thomas Roberto, a family law attorney with Adinolfi, Molotsky, Burick & Falkenstein in Haddonfield.

He said New Jersey Court Rule 5:4-2(f) requires both parties to attach an affidavit to their initial pleadings – normally a Complaint for Divorce and an Answer and/or Counterclaim – identifying all known insurance coverages for the parties and their minor children. It would specify whether any changes to the those insurance policies were made in the preceding 90 days.

“Perhaps more importantly, Rule 5:4-2(f) provides specifically: `insurance coverage identified in the affidavit shall be maintained pending further order of the court,’” he said. “ The rule applies specifically to insurance coverages in place at the commencement of, and during the pendency of, a divorce proceeding.”

Upon the conclusion of the divorce, however, each spouse usually becomes solely responsible for their individual health insurance coverage, he said.

So while removing a spouse from your health insurance coverage may indeed result in savings, whether or not this is something that is permissible under New Jersey law depends upon the specific facts of each case, including whether a divorce action has been initiated and whether there is a court order permitting discontinuation of insurance coverage, Roberto said.

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This story was originally published on Oct. 25.

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