If I was to marry my boyfriend, who has fantastic insurance, would I be covered under his policy immediately after our marriage for diabetes related care? It’s something we’ve been toying with…
No. I’m one of those fortunate people without any coverage. I’m a full time doctorate student that doesn’t work.
As soon as your intended husband puts you on his policy
you should be covered. There might be a waiting period but
probably not. He will most likely have to upgrade his policy to a family plan.
Congratulations !
8 years ago, for me, YES, this was how it worked, I was covered 100% from day one because there was no application process involved, my name was simply added as a dependent. However, some group plans can reserve the right to impose a pre-existing limitation for up to 12-18 months if you have not had previous continuous coverage, depending on the plan. They cannot deny you coverage entirely though… so anything non-d related would still be covered.
It’s best to talk to HR or whoever handles the benefits where your boyfriend works to find out this information - they should be willing to provide it without much trouble. Also ask if they offer domestic partner coverage - you could (legally) get coverage without having to get married if they offer that… so if you live together that could be an option 
I was actually covered as a domestic partner for over a year before my husband and I were married.
Yeah well we haven’t decided yet. I’m not exactly fond of the idea of being married. I know, not what you expect from a girl… but I’ve always said I’d never get married…
didn’t know that about the domestic partner! Yes, we live together… hmmm… maybe I won’t have to marry him after all… don’t get me wrong, I love him, but i’m not into the whole marriage thing…
Yeah, that’s a smart thing to do.
Marry him for his insurance.
Make sure he has a good life insurance policy too, ya never know.
If his company downsizes and he gets layed off , then what happens to marriage
It wasn’t my idea. I don’t want to ever get married. He suggested it as he loves me and knows what I’m going through. It is an honest question and seeing how we’ve been together for over four years, I don’t think I’m marrying him for his insurance. We’ve talked about getting married even before my diagnosis.
At least you know that he only wants the best for you.
I hear you, the first thing everyone asked when I got pregnant with my first kid was “are you getting married?” I HATED being asked that, or feeling like it was expected… I didn’t (and don’t) think it was really anyone’s business at the time. We did eventually get married, obviously, but not right away - and when we did, we did it because we wanted to, not because we felt we had to, and I am glad we waited (and we eloped too, didn’t bother with the whole “wedding” thing… WAY too much trouble. Oddly enough, I was the first of my sisters to get married, made the least amount of fuss about it, and I’m the only one STILL married…hmmm!)
But yeah, definitely ask about the domestic partner thing - hopefully they do offer it and that would solve all of your problems without much hassle. Some companies have different requirements, such as living together for at least 6 months, however MOST don’t actually ask for any proof (unlike the movie I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry) - they should just take your (and your boyfriend’s) word for it, and that should be that
Like others said, sometimes they can exclude the D coverage for 6 to 18 months. When I married my hubby I was covered from day one. Like you I did not want to get married, he and I were happy living together and being life partners. We had been together for 5 years when I had a cancer scare and needed coverage ASAP to make sure it wasn’t cancer. We checked with his employer to see if they had domestic partner coverage, which they did not. So off the courthouse we went and I had insurance the next week. We’ve been married for 6 years now (11 years total of being together) and it’s worked out fine.
Just a thought…if they do not cover you immediately, try to get insurance via your university (usually cannot exclude you and costs are comparatively low) and then you may be able to claim “continuous coverage”…may need to get clarification on how long you have to be covered to qualify. I am also a FT grad student and I am so grateful the university offers insurance…they did make me wait 12 months for coverage for diabetes, but were willing to pay for meds?! More importantly, I now was “covered” and if I was in your situation, would be able to request a “continuous coverage” document to then use to have complete coverage under another plan. Would first ask when you would be covered for all your diabetes needs and then if excluded, consider your other options. Take care and good luck:) Let’s hope some of the coverage issues are addressed w/ healthcare reform…given many of us go up to 6 years in FT PhD programs w/o coverage! I even looked at a program in which the university did not offer any coverage for pre-existing conditions…no matter how long you carried their insurance! The sad thing is that they are also home to one of America’s top ten medical schools. I guess only “well” students can study there?
Only stupid question is the unasked one. Best source for answering your question would be the insurance company. I worked for many years and when medical insurance was one of the benefits I always had to take a physical even though I couldn’t be turned down, except for whole life insurance.
Depends on the insurance. They may consider this a pre existing condition.
yeah, my university doesn’t offer health insurance, so I’m pretty SOL there. when i was studying for my undergraduate degree and my master’s, my university had fantastic coverage that was included in tuition and not only that, but they also had a medical school on campus… it was a double bonus!
I (and at least 2 other women I know here on TuD) arranged the timing of our marriages to get on our spouses’ insurance before we were dropped from other plans. For me personally, I had exhausted my parents’ plan’s COBRA timeframe. I’m self-employed, so the only way I could get coverage of my own would have been through a private plan, but the private plans kept sending me denial letters. So my husband and I married at the J.O.P. five months before our actual wedding - and a week before my parents’ plan dropped me. And because I had had no lapse in coverage, his group plan was forced to take me with no waiting period.
So everyone else is absolutely correct. And if you can get even some crappy coverage for about 18 months before you marry, his insurance should scoop you right up when you do get married without any “pre-existing condition” waiting period.
Yeah, i will will be making some phone calls this week for sure! If his policy won’t cover me, I will look into some bottom of the barrel joke for coverage insurance company! lol