How to Get on Your Spouse's Health Plan
Make sure you qualify., Find out the cost., Contact your benefits administrator.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Make sure you qualify.
A person could be barred from adding a spouse to an employer-sponsored health plan for two major reasons.
One, the employer might only offer individual plans and not family plans, meaning no one can add a spouse to their health plan.
Alternatively, the “open enrollment” period for your health plan might have passed.
Check the statement of benefits to find out.Open enrollment periods are periods of time when you can make changes to coverage—adding dependents like spouses, adding or subtracting benefits, or changing plans altogether.
Open enrollment is also known as a qualifying event.
When open enrollment periods end, you may only modify coverage during special circumstances (usually marriage, the birth of a child, or the loss of a job).
If your employer doesn’t offer family health plans, your options may be limited.
If plans offered on the health insurance marketplace created under the Affordable Care Act are in the open enrollment period, you may look there.
If not, then you’ll have to qualify under one of the special circumstance categories.
If there is a special circumstance, you’ll have at least 30 days from the date of the new circumstance to make the appropriate change, although many employers and insurers offer more time. -
Step 2: Find out the cost.
Most employers offering health coverage offer both individual and family plans, but as you might expect, the premiums for family plans are higher than the premiums for individual plans.
If you’re interested in adding your spouse to your health plan and it requires you to change from individual coverage to family coverage, check your statement of benefits to make sure the premiums will be at a level you can afford.Even if you don’t have to change plans, adding a dependent onto your plan may increase the premium.
More employers are offering individual plans where they pay a portion of the premium but make the employee pay the full price for any dependents.
If this is your situation, it might be cheaper just to purchase an individual plan for your spouse through a different insurer. , The benefits administrator is the person at your job who manages the company benefits such as paid time off, life insurance, medical leave, and health insurance.
Except at the largest employers, the benefits administrator is usually your human resources liaison.
Speak with them about filling out the necessary paperwork to add the dependent spouse and complete it within the necessary time period.If you’ve had any questions you can’t answer by looking over your statement of benefits, talking to your benefits administrator is first place to go to find the answers. -
Step 3: Contact your benefits administrator.
Detailed Guide
A person could be barred from adding a spouse to an employer-sponsored health plan for two major reasons.
One, the employer might only offer individual plans and not family plans, meaning no one can add a spouse to their health plan.
Alternatively, the “open enrollment” period for your health plan might have passed.
Check the statement of benefits to find out.Open enrollment periods are periods of time when you can make changes to coverage—adding dependents like spouses, adding or subtracting benefits, or changing plans altogether.
Open enrollment is also known as a qualifying event.
When open enrollment periods end, you may only modify coverage during special circumstances (usually marriage, the birth of a child, or the loss of a job).
If your employer doesn’t offer family health plans, your options may be limited.
If plans offered on the health insurance marketplace created under the Affordable Care Act are in the open enrollment period, you may look there.
If not, then you’ll have to qualify under one of the special circumstance categories.
If there is a special circumstance, you’ll have at least 30 days from the date of the new circumstance to make the appropriate change, although many employers and insurers offer more time.
Most employers offering health coverage offer both individual and family plans, but as you might expect, the premiums for family plans are higher than the premiums for individual plans.
If you’re interested in adding your spouse to your health plan and it requires you to change from individual coverage to family coverage, check your statement of benefits to make sure the premiums will be at a level you can afford.Even if you don’t have to change plans, adding a dependent onto your plan may increase the premium.
More employers are offering individual plans where they pay a portion of the premium but make the employee pay the full price for any dependents.
If this is your situation, it might be cheaper just to purchase an individual plan for your spouse through a different insurer. , The benefits administrator is the person at your job who manages the company benefits such as paid time off, life insurance, medical leave, and health insurance.
Except at the largest employers, the benefits administrator is usually your human resources liaison.
Speak with them about filling out the necessary paperwork to add the dependent spouse and complete it within the necessary time period.If you’ve had any questions you can’t answer by looking over your statement of benefits, talking to your benefits administrator is first place to go to find the answers.
About the Author
Deborah Reed
Experienced content creator specializing in crafts guides and tutorials.
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