Health insurance questions

[dakels]

Say you are about to get married and want to add your spouse to your health care. Can you do so before you are married? What if the spouse has a preexisting condition. What if they are pregnant? Is pregnancy a preexisting condition? What if they have kids?

Are their typical rules about these sorts of conditions or does it vary greatly from plan to plan?

If you can't typically add someone to your plan unless they are spouse or family, how do unmarried couples or gay couples share health care?

 

[D1gger]

These kind of questions can only be answered by your health care company. They vary by health care provider and the package your employer signs up for if it is a company sponsored program.

 

[spidey07]

That's called a life qualifying event. You can add her after you are married.

Some plans allow for qualifying domestic partners.

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: spidey07
That's called a life qualifying event. You can add her after you are married.

Some plans allow for qualifying domestic partners.

As far as getting her added, this is 100% correct.

As far as the pre-existing condition, some will cover births in cases like this but this varied by policy. Call your HR dept./insurance company.

 

[dakels]

Thanks. I know this plan covers domestic partnership but we are engaged anyways but the timing is the real issue. Right now the pregancy is easy to hide (few weeks). It wont be 3-4 months from now. Her current healthcare is a joke while mine is one of the best. I'm not sure if I should get a quick courtroom style wedding asap then do a ceremony later as planned. Can I add someone while on Cobra?

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: dakels
Thanks. I know this plan covers domestic partnership but we are engaged anyways but the timing is the real issue. Right now the pregancy is easy to hide (few weeks). It wont be 3-4 months from now. Her current healthcare is a joke while mine is one of the best. I'm not sure if I should get a quick courtroom style wedding asap then do a ceremony later as planned. Can I add someone while on Cobra?

Pregnancy is not easy to hide if she's already gone to the doctor. The best thing to do, as others have said, is to call your insurance up and ask them these questions. Part of my job is accounting for our companies health insurance costs, but your company's plan is surely different than ours. No one is going to give you the answers you need. Call your plan adminstrator.

 

[Beattie]

Pregnancy can not be considered a preexisting condition by law.