We’ve talked about “job lock.” But this is a situation I confess I had not thought of or considered. From TPM Reader SS …
Been reading your stories, haven’t seen anyone comment on this additional small aspect of how ACA will play out in real people lives in the messy, real world.
My marriage failed five plus years ago. My ex has always been on my large-group insurance, and we’ve always known individual coverage for her would be impossible or very costly due to a chronic illness. A new job might do the trick, but her efforts to re-enter the workforce after years of freelancing and then raising small children have made that a challenge, both cause it’s always hard and trying to do in this economy.
Upshot, we can’t really get divorced, because that would knock her off my coverage, and carry on in separated limbo that neither of us wants and that over time becomes more and more tense and legally problematic as we maintain separate finances/households/etc. I imagine many couples have not been able to divorce because they have been dependent on spouse’s insurance. (I also imagine if a major illness/claim arises many of these spouses-in-health-insurance-only find their eligibility challenged and end up uncovered anyhow.)
In my case, we get along fine and it’s not the end of the world, but the ACA for us means closure and moving forward. For my ex, it’s a small piece of building her own independent future.
But I often think of those trying to get out of a bad marriage because of abuse, or infidelity — but who have found that meant becoming uninsurable . . . ? Bet alot of those folks are saying “Thanks Obama” without the sass . . .