If your health insurance comes through your spouse's employer, a divorce usually ends your eligibility as a dependent. You are not left without choices. Federal COBRA lets most former spouses stay on the same group plan for up to 36 months at their own cost, Montana law adds a conversion right under insured group policies, and losing coverage through divorce opens a Special Enrollment Period on the health insurance marketplace. Each option has a short deadline. This page is part of our Montana Divorce Guide.
Your Options at a Glance
| Option | What it is | Deadline to watch | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| COBRA continuation | Stay on the same employer group plan for up to 36 months after the divorce, at your own cost | Notify the plan administrator within 60 days after the divorce; then an election period of at least 60 days | 29 U.S.C. §§ 1161 to 1167 |
| Montana conversion policy | A separate policy from the same insurer, issued without evidence of insurability | Apply and pay the first premium within 31 days after group coverage ends | MCA §§ 33-22-508, 33-22-510, 33-30-1007 |
| Marketplace plan | A new individual plan through HealthCare.gov, possibly with savings based on income | Special Enrollment Period if you divorced and lost coverage in the past 60 days | HealthCare.gov |
| Your own employer's plan | Coverage as an employee instead of as a dependent | Ask your employer about its enrollment rules after a loss of other coverage | Plan documents |
During the Case: Coverage Stays in Place
When a dissolution petition is filed, the clerk issues an automatic economic restraining order with the summons. Among other things, it restrains both spouses from "canceling, altering, or allowing to lapse any existing property, life, automobile, or health insurance policies insuring the parties' or children's property or persons" (MCA § 40-4-126). It binds the petitioner on filing and the respondent on service.
So coverage should continue unchanged until the decree, unless both spouses agree in writing or the court orders otherwise. See our guide to the automatic economic restraining order. Use that time to price your options.
COBRA Continuation Coverage
COBRA is the federal law that requires many employer group health plans to offer continued coverage after certain events. "The divorce or legal separation of the covered employee from the employee's spouse" is one of the listed qualifying events (29 U.S.C. § 1163(3)). A spouse who was covered under the plan the day before the event is a qualified beneficiary (§ 1167(3)).
- Which plans. COBRA does not apply to a group health plan if all employers maintaining it normally employed fewer than 20 employees on a typical business day in the preceding calendar year (§ 1161(b)). State and local government plans have parallel continuation rules in a different federal statute (42 U.S.C. § 300bb-1).
- Notice. The covered employee or the qualified beneficiary is responsible for notifying the plan administrator of a divorce within 60 days after the date of the qualifying event (§ 1166(a)(3)). The administrator then has 14 days to send notice of your rights (§ 1166(c)).
- Election. The election period must last at least 60 days (§ 1165(a)(1)).
- Length. For a divorce, coverage must be available for up to 36 months after the qualifying event (§ 1162(2)(A)(iv)).
- Cost. The plan may charge up to 102 percent of the applicable premium (§ 1162(3)). That is the whole premium, including the part the employer used to pay.
- Same coverage. Continuation coverage must be identical to what similarly situated beneficiaries receive, and it cannot be conditioned on evidence of insurability (§ 1162(1), (4)).
Do not rely on your former spouse or the employer to send the notice. Send it yourself, in writing, to the plan administrator named in the plan documents, and keep proof.
Montana Conversion Rights
Montana does not have a separate statute that mirrors COBRA's 36 months for a divorced spouse. What the insurance code provides is a conversionright. A group disability insurance policy (the code's term for health insurance) must let a covered person convert to a policy issued by the insurer "without evidence of insurability" when group coverage ends for listed reasons, if the person had been insured for 3 months and applies and pays the first premium within 31 days after group coverage terminates (MCA § 33-22-508(1)).
That privilege extends "to the spouse of the employee or member upon termination of coverage of the spouse, by reason of ceasing to be a qualified family member under the group policy," including children whose coverage ends at the same time (MCA § 33-22-510(2)). The statute caps the conversion premium as a percentage of the insurer's customary rate (§ 33-22-508(4)). A similar conversion rule applies to health service corporation group contracts (MCA § 33-30-1007).
These state rules govern insured policies. Whether they reach a particular employer plan, especially a self-funded one, is a question for the plan administrator or the Montana insurance commissioner's office.
Marketplace Coverage
HealthCare.gov lists divorce as a life change that can open a Special Enrollment Period: you may qualify if in the past 60 days you "got divorced or legally separated and lost health insurance." It adds that divorce or legal separation without losing coverage does not qualify. Losing coverage you had through a spouse is also listed as a loss of qualifying coverage, and that window includes the 60 days before an expected loss.
A marketplace plan may cost less than COBRA depending on your income after the divorce. HealthCare.gov also notes that voluntarily dropping COBRA later, or stopping premium payments, does not open a new Special Enrollment Period. Compare both before you elect.
Building Insurance Into the Settlement
Health insurance is a real expense, and it belongs in the financial picture. The cost of replacing coverage is part of a spouse's reasonable needs when maintenance is considered under MCA § 40-4-203. A settlement can say who pays COBRA premiums and for how long. See our maintenance overview and the marital settlement agreement guide.
Some couples ask whether a legal separation keeps a spouse on the plan. COBRA lists legal separation alongside divorce as a qualifying event, so the answer depends on the plan's own terms. Ask the plan administrator in writing before relying on that idea. Our comparison of legal separation and divorce covers the rest. Military families have their own rules, discussed in military divorce in Montana.
This page explains the law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated and current federal statutes. It is not legal or insurance advice about your specific case.