If you are on your spouse’s health insurance policy, the best option may be COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act). It is a federal law that was designed to protect employees and their families from losing insurance coverage as a result of divorce and other life changes. However, COBRA is very expensive. You can continue coverage under COBRA for up to three years, but you have to pay for the entire premium, up to 102 percent of the cost.
If your spouse does not have an insurance policy, or if COBRA is too expensive, you have several options. First, obviously if your employer offers insurance that works with your financial situation, look into it. Although you may have in previous years not taken that insurance because your spouse’s insurance had better coverage and/or costs, you may find now that the policy works better for you in your situation.
You can also purchase an individual policy. There are a number of options available, both through private exchanges and on the healthcare.gov website.
Finally, you should consider asking for insurance coverage as part of your divorce settlement. It’s possible this will not work, but it is worth discussing with your attorney, especially if there are children involved or if you have a serious medical condition that would make it tough to get insurance on your own.