Can employee cover another employee spouse under their coverage?

[CEB]

Can an employee cover their working spouse, at the same employer, as a dependent in their health plan? Both are eligible for benefits. I thought it might be some kind of irs pretax problem. I just saw this when someone tried to elect family coverage but their spouse (open enrollment) is being added to their coverage and spouse is dropping their individual coverage.

[CEB]

The plan language states employee can have working spouse as a dependent in plan because the plan was originally set up as EE+1 or 2 or 3 etc. coverage, but new plan rates are EE+Sp or EE+family.

[masteff]

It is not a pretax problem.

Generally if you see both with individual coverage, it's a matter of cost savings (to them as a couple) that results from how the employer subsidizes the insurance cost.

[GBurns]

There is no tax related problem.

When both spouses work for the same employer, which is quite common in the public sector, coverage is as available under the plan and coverage selections. The employee usually selects the coverage that is the most cost effective to them as a couple. It usually is cheaper to use EE+ Sp than to cover each individually.