Health Insurance Marrying
Should You Get Married for Health Insurance? Here Are Three Pitfalls
Not all of the time. Some people who are desperate for health insurance are considering marrying for it. This year, a storyline on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" focused on a female doctor marrying a male patient (not her own) in order for him to qualify for health insurance and life-saving surgery.
Marriage Comes First, Then Shared Health Insurance, Right?
"It's extremely difficult for some people to obtain and afford health insurance," says Jennifer Jaff, executive director of Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness in Farmington, Conn. "It doesn't matter if they have pre-existing conditions if they can get on a plan as a dependent." They can obtain coverage as a dependent that they would not be able to obtain otherwise."
While walking down the aisle to get health insurance may sound tempting, there are three potential stumbling blocks:
Marrying for Health Insurance Isn’t an Ethical Decision
According to Kathleen Stoll, director of health policies for Families USA, a Washington, D.C.-based charity that promotes the availability of affordable health care, "no one should marry just to get health insurance." But if you've discovered someone you love and one of you needs health insurance, Stoll says it's legal.
"It's not going to work if you get married and don't live together or act like a married couple and you ever get caught," Jaff explains. "Equally, if that's the only reason you're getting married, someone could certainly argue that it amounts to fraud."
Health Insurance Still May Not Cover You
Dependent coverage is not available in all insurance. Of course, adding family coverage to a solo policy may result in a large increase in insurance costs.
According to Stoll, new pre-existing condition plans established under the federal healthcare reform law provide some assistance to consumers who are having problems acquiring cheap insurance.
Marriage Doesn’t End After the Surgery or Care You Need
Even if you believe the worst is over, physically, after you've been covered by health insurance policies and undergone any necessary medical operations, you can't easily and quickly end your marriage. According to Jaff, the idea of having to marry for health insurance exemplifies the issues with the American health-care system. She believes that people should not be required to change their marital status in order to obtain health care coverage.
"If they marry for that reason, they're going to be married, and all of the other consequences of being married are going to apply," Jaff adds.
If one of the couples dies, the surviving children may face additional tax responsibilities, power-of-attorney concerns, and fights.
Health Insurance Does Influence the Decision to Get Married
Jaff and others know newlyweds who believe that health insurance was a big factor in their choice to marry. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 7% of more than 2,000 persons polled in 2008 answered "yes" when asked if they or anybody in their household had married in the previous year primarily for health care advantages.
"We hear people say, 'We were thinking about getting married and we decided to move forward for a number of reasons, one of which may be so that he or she can access health insurance coverage," says Stoll, the Families USA executive.
According to a wedding chapel officiant, one out of every ten couples claimed health insurance as the primary reason for getting married, whether due to a job loss, illness, or unforeseen pregnancy.
The Rise of Desperation Over Health Insurance
Some people go to extraordinary lengths to find love and health insurance. Terri Carlson, a divorced California lady suffering from a rare genetic condition, set up a website to pursue both at the same time.
Carlson claims that the countless proposals she received (which she has yet to accept) demonstrated that people thought marrying someone to get health insurance was the "humane thing to do." Carlson claims to have seen people post on Craigslist that they are selling health insurance to possible partners who are eager to marry them.
Carlson claims that for years, people have been covertly marrying for health insurance. She claims her web effort did little more than bring it to the public's attention.
"For me, it came out of a sense of desperation and worry for my own security and financial welfare," Carlson says, adding that she found a short-term answer by launching her own business and qualifying for health insurance. "Certainly, I wish I could be married tomorrow and not have to worry about it."
When evaluating insurance policies, always go with the one that provides the greatest coverage at the lowest possible cost.