Just Married, Should We Combine Health Insurance?
I got married in April 2014- Me and my husband decided to combine our health insurance for 2015. However, A coworker of mine just informed that was a bad idea. She said that if my husband chooses to opt out of his insurance provided by his company, that starting this year, I would have to pay double for him. A brief example – If I am paying $40 , my company will charge me $80 to cover him. Bring my grand total to $120. Is this true?
Answer
Your premiums will increase (you are paying your share of your premium for two people, instead of one). There is no hard-and-fast rule that rates will double.
Individual plans typically have lower cost sharing limits, but higher premiums for a self-only plan compared to family plan. However employer contributions are typically higher for the employee then they are for other household members. So your best value will depend upon your medical needs, employer contributions, and total premiums.
The only way to know how your premium will be affected by adding your husband is to check with your employer (ie. look at cost sharing and premium rates for family coverage versus individual coverage.) Same for him.
If you guys only had one source of coverage, or didn't have employer coverage and were using the Marketplaces, there would be many more things to consider.