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"One of the first things I did when I got my day job was opt in for company medical benefits. At that time, my marriage was essentially over, and I knew that Peter would be moving out not too long after I secured permanent employment (I had been a temp for awhile between jobs). We were all being covered by Peter&amp;#039;s employer, and I considered that a not-so-great scenario, especially since his girlfriend was another executive at the same company. I got lucky, because my company offers great benefits at a really good price and my co-pays are manageable. Still, they add up and that&amp;#039;s something I didn&amp;#039;t even consider when Peter and I settled on a support amount after he moved out. Between annual physicals, sick child visits, a sledding accident and a broken leg, I really had a chunk of co-pays and medical bills to pay. I asked for Peter&amp;#039;s help on some of it here and there, but I wish I had proactively figured in those copays and potential medical bill costs ahead of time. My plan covers a lot, but it doesn&amp;#039;t cover at 100%. As the custodial parent, I end up taking the brunt of the cost. Health Insurance is just another thing you really need to consider when you&amp;#039;re negotiating a divorce (or even preparing to do so). According to a study conducted by the University of Michigan and published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, woman disproportionatly lose access to health coverage after a divorce - both directly, through a loss of dependent coverage from a spouse&amp;#039;s plan, and indirectly, through their inability to access or afford other forms of health coverage. I&amp;#039;m one of the luckier ones, since I was able to secure benefits through my employer. There are many women who aren&amp;#039;t employed outside the home that find themselves facing sky-high personal coverage premiums (or ridiculous COBRA premiums from their former husband&amp;#039;s employer), or worse, they have no benefits at all.  What was your insurance scenario post-divorce? Were you able to obtain or maintain coverage? How do you think it affected you/ "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/relationships/dating-marriage/a46665/health-insurance-after-divorce/?src=shelter_footer>