Co-workers discussing getting a legal divorce just to qualify for Peach Care

[tnmt]

And what is considered 'at a reasonable cost'?? And what if someone is self employed or doesn't qualify for insurance thru their employer? My husband is self employed and the cost for health insurance is obscene, and my employer doesn't offer it to me because I don't work full time.

Have you thought about getting a full time job so that you would have health insurance? I would be worried to death if my husband and I had no health insurance.

 

[Colleen27]

And what is considered 'at a reasonable cost'?? And what if someone is self employed or doesn't qualify for insurance thru their employer? My husband is self employed and the cost for health insurance is obscene, and my employer doesn't offer it to me because I don't work full time.

There's usually a percent of income guideline. My ex got the insurance part of our support order dropped when he got a job where the premium was a little over 30% of his pay.

 

[scrapquitler]

Have you thought about getting a full time job so that you would have health insurance? I would be worried to death if my husband and I had no health insurance.

Oh we have it, we pay the obscene price because I would be too scared to not have it (the financial rule my parents drilled into me is: "no matter how tight money is the three bills you always pay without fail are mortgage or rent, health insurance and groceries") Working full time is not a feasible option for me, the least of which is with my union job, it is almost impossible to get a full time position unless you have at least 10-12 years of seniority, which I don't have. But we have in fact talked about how if we got divorced, we might actually be far better off financially (my very low pay vs. DH's pay, cost of insurance, earned income tax credit, etc). We would never do it, but we have had the discussion.

 

[LadyBeBop]

I think you cannot have grandchildren on your insurance unless you have custody of them. Your DD would be covered for the birth but the baby goes on a state program.

That is correct, at least in Kentucky.

My DD (then 20) had her pregnancy and hospital stay covered through my insurance. However, my DGD was on a state program for the first several years of her life, until DD got a job with family medical benefits.

 

[disney1990]

People will do what they have to do to survive. I know somebody that divorced her husband so that she could collect her first husband's social security benefit, which are quite a bit larger.

 

[ghosty1000]

I work in the public assistance division in Ohio and I can tell you that divorce alone will not get your kids Medicaid insurance. If both parents are in the home with the child (married or not) BOTH of their incomes count. SO unless you want to divorce and move out of the household, that isn't a good plan. Also, in some cases the child support enforcement agency then goes after the absent parent for financial and medical support for the child if the state is paying.

 

[indimom]

I think you cannot have grandchildren on your insurance unless you have custody of them. Your DD would be covered for the birth but the baby goes on a state program.

A friend of mine was in this situation. Her parents were named custodians (In name only. She raised the child in their home while she finished school.) so that their insurance could carry the baby until she had a full time job and benefits of her own. Putting the baby on the state program was not an option they would consider, they thought of it as welfare.

 

[Tink-aholic]

This whole thread is appalling...and I am speaking as someone who once was on welfare. What is wrong with some of you people? Why should I pay for health insurance for someone else's kids, if they have two perfectly healthy married parents available and have health insurance available??

When I was on welfare -- and it doesn't matter if you call it "Peach-this" or "CHiP-that" -- all the cutsie names in the world won't disguise the fact that it is welfare. Government assistance. Handouts.

At the time, I was becoming a single mom. I had Medicaid during my pregnancy (and my son had it for a year after), I received cash assistance for 2 months, food stamps for six months (that I stretched and made last a year), childcare assistance for a year, and WIC. I was honest with every form I filled out and I met every deadline. I also got my butt off every form of assistance AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE, because there was a stigma associated with welfare that just isn't there anymore. I kind of wish it was, though...still there, I mean. I think there should be at least a little bit of shame in accepting help beyond what you absolutely need to survive, and certainly if you have any luxuries in your life. Take what you need and then leave the rest for those who need it more than you.

I worked two jobs and went to school full-time so that our lives would be better and I would once again be a responsible and productive citizen. I'm sorry for being caustic, but I am a little bitter when it comes to the thought of my tax dollars going to pay for people who are willing to milk the system.

 

[Brancaneve]

So they are thinking of getting a divorce just in case something goes wrong and they have to pay $50-$65 out of pocket for a doc appt?

I'm willing to bet that these people have cable or a cellphone they could cut back on first. Besides, let's say a divorce costs $500, put that in the bank for a "medical fund" instead and you've got 10 visits covered right there,

Couldn't have said it better!

 

[sheilanne]

This whole thread is appalling...and I am speaking as someone who once was on welfare. What is wrong with some of you people? Why should I pay for health insurance for someone else's kids, if they have two perfectly healthy married parents available and have health insurance available??

When I was on welfare -- and it doesn't matter if you call it "Peach-this" or "CHiP-that" -- all the cutsie names in the world won't disguise the fact that it is welfare. Government assistance. Handouts.

At the time, I was becoming a single mom. I had Medicaid during my pregnancy (and my son had it for a year after), I received cash assistance for 2 months, food stamps for six months (that I stretched and made last a year), childcare assistance for a year, and WIC. I was honest with every form I filled out and I met every deadline. I also got my butt off every form of assistance AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE, because there was a stigma associated with welfare that just isn't there anymore. I kind of wish it was, though...still there, I mean. I think there should be at least a little bit of shame in accepting help beyond what you absolutely need to survive, and certainly if you have any luxuries in your life. Take what you need and then leave the rest for those who need it more than you.

I worked two jobs and went to school full-time so that our lives would be better and I would once again be a responsible and productive citizen. I'm sorry for being caustic, but I am a little bitter when it comes to the thought of my tax dollars going to pay for people who are willing to milk the system.

I agree completely!!!! This is why the working people in our country need to wake up and educate themselves on who they are voting for!

 

[robsmom]

A friend of mine was in this situation. Her parents were named custodians (In name only. She raised the child in their home while she finished school.) so that their insurance could carry the baby until she had a full time job and benefits of her own. Putting the baby on the state program was not an option they would consider, they thought of it as welfare.

They are just trading one form of welfare for another. Whether it is the parent's company, the insurance company, or welfare someone other than the parent (or grandparent) of this baby is covering medical expenses for the baby.

 

[Muushka]

This whole thread is appalling...and I am speaking as someone who once was on welfare. What is wrong with some of you people? Why should I pay for health insurance for someone else's kids, if they have two perfectly healthy married parents available and have health insurance available??

When I was on welfare -- and it doesn't matter if you call it "Peach-this" or "CHiP-that" -- all the cutsie names in the world won't disguise the fact that it is welfare. Government assistance. Handouts.

At the time, I was becoming a single mom. I had Medicaid during my pregnancy (and my son had it for a year after), I received cash assistance for 2 months, food stamps for six months (that I stretched and made last a year), childcare assistance for a year, and WIC. I was honest with every form I filled out and I met every deadline. I also got my butt off every form of assistance AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE, because there was a stigma associated with welfare that just isn't there anymore. I kind of wish it was, though...still there, I mean. I think there should be at least a little bit of shame in accepting help beyond what you absolutely need to survive, and certainly if you have any luxuries in your life. Take what you need and then leave the rest for those who need it more than you.

I worked two jobs and went to school full-time so that our lives would be better and I would once again be a responsible and productive citizen. I'm sorry for being caustic, but I am a little bitter when it comes to the thought of my tax dollars going to pay for people who are willing to milk the system.

You are exactly the type of person that I have no problem giving temporary help to.
Thank you for your fine example that I wish so many others would follow.

What I see in this thread is that there is going to be a portion of people who are just plain fed up with paying for everyone else and they want their portion too.
Honestly, I can't blame them.

Then there will be those who are in business who get to the point where they just don't want to contribute to the country via taxes, and they choose to not do business anymore.

And there will be couples where both work.
And one of them will stop working because they don't want to contribute any more taxes to the system.
That would be me. Anyone else going to Shrug?

 

[bea2269]

That's just thinking logically. We can't have that!!!

I've learned over the years that personal budgets have a lot more stretch in them than we care to believe. What it really comes down to is a WANT to keep certain parts of our budget just the way they are. No one enjoys seeing their "vacation" or "fun money" budgets shrink in order for their medical budget to expand...

Very true. I tell my DH the first thing to go is Dvr/hd tv. As long as we have cable and cell phones, we've got room to cut the budget.

 

[bea2269]

This whole thread is appalling...and I am speaking as someone who once was on welfare. What is wrong with some of you people? Why should I pay for health insurance for someone else's kids, if they have two perfectly healthy married parents available and have health insurance available??

When I was on welfare -- and it doesn't matter if you call it "Peach-this" or "CHiP-that" -- all the cutsie names in the world won't disguise the fact that it is welfare. Government assistance. Handouts.

At the time, I was becoming a single mom. I had Medicaid during my pregnancy (and my son had it for a year after), I received cash assistance for 2 months, food stamps for six months (that I stretched and made last a year), childcare assistance for a year, and WIC. I was honest with every form I filled out and I met every deadline. I also got my butt off every form of assistance AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE, because there was a stigma associated with welfare that just isn't there anymore. I kind of wish it was, though...still there, I mean. I think there should be at least a little bit of shame in accepting help beyond what you absolutely need to survive, and certainly if you have any luxuries in your life. Take what you need and then leave the rest for those who need it more than you.

I worked two jobs and went to school full-time so that our lives would be better and I would once again be a responsible and productive citizen. I'm sorry for being caustic, but I am a little bitter when it comes to the thought of my tax dollars going to pay for people who are willing to milk the system.

Kudos momma! You hit the nail on the head. There is no stigma attached to it anymore. My parents had to take food stamps when I was young. This was when they had the coupons that you had to tear out of the book. My mother was humiliated to use them. She did, and we were grateful. But, we were also off them 6 months later. I couldn't imagine a divorce to get GA. We have four little ones, and we are on a permanent payment plan at the pedi. But, we budget and spend wisely to make it work.

 

[Colleen27]

This whole thread is appalling...and I am speaking as someone who once was on welfare. What is wrong with some of you people? Why should I pay for health insurance for someone else's kids, if they have two perfectly healthy married parents available and have health insurance available??

When I was on welfare -- and it doesn't matter if you call it "Peach-this" or "CHiP-that" -- all the cutsie names in the world won't disguise the fact that it is welfare. Government assistance. Handouts.

Available and affordable are two different things, though, and as the costs of healthcare continue to rise we're going to have more people resorting to things they never thought they'd do in order to have coverage. I know a LOT of people who pay more for their insurance than for their rent/mortgage. And for the working class that just isn't manageable. It isn't "get a second job" territory - it is "working full time for insurance alone with nothing leftover to live on" territory. We need a sane health care system and until that happens this is going to be the unintended consequence of needing to cram several layers of profit into the bottom-line bill.

 

[maxiesmom]

My husband and I have had this discussion as well. If we were divorced, the kids and I would qualify for all sorts of financial assistance, tax credits, subsidized insurance, etc.

I know someone who has been with her non-husband for a long time. The reason they don't get married is because of all the tax breaks they get for not being married. It is so crazy! I don't understand why the government penalizes couples for getting married. Seems like it should be the other way around.

 

[Colleen27]

I know someone who has been with her non-husband for a long time. The reason they don't get married is because of all the tax breaks they get for not being married. It is so crazy! I don't understand why the government penalizes couples for getting married. Seems like it should be the other way around.

I agree, but taxes are a different matter. Divorcing to qualify for public assistance only works if you're willing to establish separate residences (which usually involves higher costs than the value of assistance received) or commit fraud because the application process looks at household income. Tax rates and phase outs, on the other hand, are determined entirely by legal status so a couple choosing cohabitation over marriage isn't doing anything wrong.

 

[VagueFury]

My husband and I have had this discussion as well. If we were divorced, the kids and I would qualify for all sorts of financial assistance, tax credits, subsidized insurance, etc.

That is a huge misconception about how things like that work. You would not qualify for anything more just because you were divorced because it is always based on household income. He would have to no longer live with you so the household income would drop. If he's still there he is still part of the household even if you are divorced.

Married people don't get the shaft. They either have two incomes or they have one person to stay home and save on all the costs associated with jobs including childcare. Two parents living apart have yo pay two rent payments, two electric bills, two everything. Saving on insurance could not possibly overcome that.

 

[robsmom]

That is a huge misconception about how things like that work. You would not qualify for anything more just because you were divorced because it is always based on household income. He would have to no longer live with you so the household income would drop. If he's still there he is still part of the household even if you are divorced.

Married people don't get the shaft. They either have two incomes or they have one person to stay home and save on all the costs associated with jobs including childcare. Two parents living apart have yo pay two rent payments, two electric bills, two everything. Saving on insurance could not possibly overcome that.

So the married people should pay taxes to cover the extra expenses that it costs the divorced people to live in two houses? This is a choice they made, why should it cost the people who work through their difficulties and stayed married.?

 

[badblackpug]

Support is only ordered if there's a disparity though. If there's an equitable time division, or other major disparities, there's no support order. Insurance isn't automatic if there's an equitable division of everything else, because as you say, has to be decided by someone.

I am divorced. I've done the family court thing, I know how it works. At least in my state. Child support is based on a combination of income and over night visits. So, yes, if the over nights are 50/50 then there is no child support. Insurance is a totally different thing. Someone is always ordered to insure the child. The state doesn't want to pay for it. If only one parent carries private insurance, then they are ordered to insure the child. If both parents carry it then it is either decided between the parties or by the judge if they disagree. All out of pocket expenses are split on a percentage based on income.

No state is going to foot the bill for state insurance if the child can be covered privately.

My ex had a friend that was actually arrested because he didn't provide proof of insurance for his daughter. He had her insured, but didn't send the paperwork in.