You will be faced with many issues during divorce, and medical insurance should certainly be one of them.

Having adequate health insurance is vital, especially if you have children. One mishap that leads to a hospital stay or an infection that requires medical care could put you in financial straits for months to come. We all know how medical costs and prescriptions have skyrocketed in this country.

Employer-provided health care for people under 65 and compared with the number of women over 50 who depend on their husband’s medical insurance leaves a substantial number of women with a possible loss of coverage in the event of a divorce. The costs of ignoring health benefits as a part of divorce can cause financial ruin in the future.

There are options both during and after the divorce to make sure you and your children are adequately covered.

Once the marriage ends, there are at least four options that will enable you to get needed medical coverage for yourself and your children. It doesn’t matter who will have custody.

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), a federally mandated law, was created to protect employees and their families from losing health insurance as a result of death, job loss, divorce, and other life situations.

Should your ex-spouse continue medical coverage with the company he works for and his/her company employs at least twenty people, you may be able to continue coverage for as long as 3 years if you pay for the premium in its entirety for coverage up to 102% of the plan cost. If you re-marry or are able to buy health insurance of your own, the COBRA law will no longer be in effect.

If you are working full time and your employer has an affordable health plan, you should see what it has to offer for vision, dental, prescriptions, office visits, etc. if you think it will meet yours and your children’s needs. However, as with everything else these days, your employer’s policy may not be what you need on your budget with all of the new restrictions.

Discuss with your legal counsel about asking the judge to grant you and your children medical coverage under your ex-spouse’s plan. It may or may not work, but is certainly worth asking. This would be included in the child support section of your divorce file. Also, ask your counsel if you could be compensated for finding your own health insurance in the form of a monthly fee paid by your ex-spouse in the divorce settlement if you find you will need this financial assistance.

You might be surprised at the options available for the un-insured, on-going medical condition person, as well as the under insured. Again, you will have to pay your own premium for an individual health plan, but it’s a good option if you wish to cut all ties with what no longer works for you.

Many plans are available to choose. One is called “consumer driven healthcare” that isn’t an HMO, but offers plans with ready access to doctors and hospitals. Just be careful with plan prices. Agents tend to hard sell consumers.

Ready or not divorce brings changes - maybe some welcomed, maybe some not. But do not let the financial issues became a reason to stay in a relationship that no longer works because it may be costly to not only the mind, body and spirit of yourself but to everyone else including your children.

The last option – and maybe the best one – is to apply for Medicaid. It’s a federal program that provides health coverage for children and pregnant women from low-income families. You can find out more about it from your local welfare office, or by visiting Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.