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Divorce, Health Insurance and a Retired Federal Employee

Ball Dropped

Fed Employee
Fed
Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:05 AM

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Unfortunately, her attorney dropped the ball on this. When you go through a divorce, your attorney needs to have EVERY entitlement clearly stated in the decree. This is what happens when it's not done properly.

Ex-spouse's entitlement to FEHB

Retired
VA
Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:23 AM

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The prefix ex indicates former. FEHB provisions do not cover former relatives. Private healthcare insurance programs seldom cover former relatives. Why should the ex-wife expect Federal dollars to offset her medical costs? If the veteran remarried, he would again have a spouse and be eligible to have family coverage. As far as entitlement to survivor death benefits, that should have been addressed in the divorce agreement. How long were they married? If 10 years or more, maybe there is entitlement to Social Security.

Re: Ex-spouse's entitlement to FEHB

Mindless Toady
USFS
Wed Oct 14, 2009 12:52 PM
I was told at a retirement training session that you are allowed to maintain FEHB health coverage for your spouse after retirement, even if the marriage later ends in divorce (which is, in fact, the situation described in this article).

I think if you divorce before retiring, however, the ex-spouse is not eligible for continued coverage.

Re: Ex-spouse's entitlement to FEHB

worker
fed
Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:02 PM
Lawyers, need help on this one,

One the wife then go back to divorce court to have the husband pay for a medical insurance policy equal to the FEHB plan? That would enforce the decree.

Court Ruling

Engineer
USAF
Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:42 AM

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It appears to me that Ms. Richardson has been following the wrong road. Since the State Court ruled that Mr. Richardson was responsible for ensuring that she was covered, she should be talking to a lawyer about getting that enforced by the State Court. i.e. the Court didn't say how he had to cover her. If he doesn't want to cover her via his insurance, then it only seems right that he should have to pay for a private coverage, I think she would be able to get him to reinstate her coverage under those conditions.

Re: Court Ruling

Nameless, Faceless Nobody
DON
Wed Oct 14, 2009 1:02 PM
I was thinking that while reading the article. You said it first ! Only our children were allowed to be carried on insurance plans and the divorced spouse was not. Either her lawyer blew that one, or she didn't actually understand. However...If it does say he pays for her health insurance, go get a decent private plan and present him the bill.

COURT SYSTEM SCREWED UP

BUDGET ANALYST
ARMY
Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:15 AM

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This is typical screwed up court system which allows a judge to order the retired federal employee to pay for federal health premiums knowing that OPM doesn't allow it after a divorce. When a person is retired, the court system should not be allowed to try and squeeze everything out of retired person. This judge should be dismissed for not performing his function properly.

Re: COURT SYSTEM SCREWED UP

Secretary
Gov
Wed Oct 14, 2009 3:12 PM
Ahhh, she won't have to worry her pretty little head for long! Once the new healthcare plan goes into affect, we will ALL be happily paying for HER insurance!

Re: COURT SYSTEM SCREWED UP

worker
fed
Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:05 PM
To sec,
This has nothing to do with the Obama health care plan. Stick to the issue. There are plenty of places to comment on the plan.

Health coverage for an ex

HR Specialist
IRS
Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:51 AM

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It seems that this poor woman has been thrown back into the dark ages of the federal retirement system. Back when I first started handling retirements, it was not unusual for not only "Exes" (usually wives), but also current spouses, of many years to be excluded by their federall employed spouses (usually husbands) from any survivor's benefits, including health coverage. And they wouldn't even know about it until shortly after retirement, when they'd be dumped via divorce. Fortunately that has changed, but too many attorneys who handle divorces these days can't seem to get it through their heads that the Federal system is very different, and they need to pay attention to OPM's rules and regulations. By the way, payment for health coverage after a divorce comes out of the retiree's annuity. So the money is being paid out, but doesn't necessarily represent an added burden to the taxpayer. After all, they don't need to eat.

Usual bad practice...

IT Drone
DoD
Wed Oct 14, 2009 12:04 PM

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Divorce judges routinely try to award things they have no right to. Worse than this, they will award military pensions and medical even if the soon-to-be ex was NEVER married to the service member when that person was active duty. A family member of mine married a much younger woman five years AFTER retiring from the Marines on full disability. The woman robbed him blind and then got a judge to award her 50% of his disability--another pension off-limits to exes.

There needs to be special judges out there who just handle cases involving military and federal retiree cases.

health insurance for divorced spouses

Career Law Clerk
U.S. District Court
Wed Oct 14, 2009 12:12 PM

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what is the solution to this problem? What should the divorced spouse have done or should she now do?

Re: health insurance for divorced spouses

Retired
USPS
Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:24 PM
Probably her only recourse is to enforce her ex-spouse's order as per the decree, to pay for a health plan for her. That would most likely be his choice of plans, if he is ordered to pay 100%

Re: health insurance for divorced spouses

General Engineer
DOT
Tue Nov 3, 2009 2:03 PM
I'm just wondering why the spouse shouldn't pay her portion of the health care premium while being carried on her spouse's plan. This sounds like a much more equitable arrangement in today's world.
Total Comments: 27
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