Chosen by Asker

Yes, it's legal. It's very common for employers to do this. It's allowed everywhere. When the spouse goes on YOUR plan, instead of their own, YOUR employer is allowed to charge extra.

by mbrcatz

1 month ago

Asker's Rating: 

Yes, its legal. Your employer is under no obligation to provide coverage to your spouse AT ALL. If your spouse has coverage available through his own employer but chooses to decline, then you are placing a greater financial burden on your employers plan. When you think about it that way, a $100 penalty is pretty cheap compared to the risk they're taking on his potential medical expenses. At my employer, spouses are required to take coverage through their own employer (if available). If my husband declined coverage through his own employer, he wouldn't be allowed to enroll in my employer's coverage at all. There's a Spousal Verification Form that my husband's benefit rep at his employer has to complete once a year certifying whether their company offers benefits and whether or not my spouse is enrolled. I guess you can consider yourself lucky that they only charge you a $100 penalty, rather than dis-enrolling your husband entirely.

by sarah314- 1 month ago

Yes. My husbands health insurance is the same way. If I'm offered health insurance at my place of employment I have to take it or we pay a fee for insuring me on his.

by Worry Wart- 1 month ago

they're not charging you for him not being on his company's health plan..they're charging you for spouse coverage. when you filled out the insurance form on your open enrollment it probably had a couple check boxes that said either: employee only employee + spouse employee + children employee + spouse + children the 100 bucks is not a penalty but a premium you pay for your spouse to be covered

by noob- 1 month ago

Yes, it is legal. It is costing your employer extra money because he opted out of HIS employer's insurance.

by jlf- 1 month ago

it's probably not a penalty - it's just what two-person coverage costs - you didn't expect it to cost you the same as single coverage did you? why would your husband sign up on yours? it probably costs you both less in total to each have single coverage on your own plans vs Employee+1 coverage on one job - didn't you check out the total costs before he did that?? you are stuck now until next open enrollment period (next Oct?)

by Doctor Deth- 1 month ago