When my husband and I divorced 2 1/2 years ago, the last thing on my mind was health insurance. He worked at a large corporation and the family health benefits were terrific. But, to cut costs, the company has been reducing benefits every year, which caused me to dig deeper and deeper into my budget. I have now developed diabetes and learned that my premiums will increase to more than $600 per month later this year. I am unemployed. What can I do?

When my wife and I divorced three years ago, I agreed to keep up health insurance for her and the children, now 15 and 11. At that time her premium was less than $150 per month and the children’s was $75. Now she has a health problem, can’t get other coverage, and her conversion premium is more than $500 monthly. Am I hooked for life?

When my husband and I divorced, I was in good health and my lawyer told me that the best thing to do was to continue on my husband’s employer health plan. So I did. My rates have steadily been going up, and, at 57, I am told I am not a good risk for private coverage. Do I have any options?

Each year, more than 2 million people divorce  and hundreds of thousands more separate to become next year’s statistics. Not so long ago, health insurance was awarded by the courts almost as a matter of course. Not so long ago, the supporting spouse  generally the husband  not only supported the family, but also provided the health insurance. Not so long ago, health insurance at divorce was a “given.” Not any more!

We hear and read about it every day: Health care costs in the United States are at crisis proportions. But, until it hits home, we say “It won’t happen to me!” When you separate or divorce, it is more likely to happen to you than not. Here’s why:

Because most family health coverage in the United States today is furnished by employers, the end of a marriage can mean the end of employer-provided health coverage for the family  not just for the dependent spouse, but also for the children. And, even if employer-provided health insurance continues, the premium cost is all but guaranteed to escalate to astronomical proportions  sometimes more than a mortgage payment  at the end of the 36-month COBRA continuation period.

To further complicate things, the divorce rates for women and men ages 55 and older are on the rise. And these Americans have more complex health coverage planning concerns than others because of retiree health care plans, Medicare, Medigap and long-term care issues.

Termination of health coverage for healthy people is bad enough, but when people have pre-existing conditions or post-divorce health issues, termination can be catastrophic. Today, many depend on employer group health plans to provide coverage after divorce for dependent spouses and children. But, with job terminations and discontinuance of group health plans by employers, you should understand your options  and you may have at least several of them if you take the time to plan.