Under California law, your employer must offer you participation in the companies Small Business policy if you meet the eligibility requirements. This means full-time employment beyond whatever the waiting period imposed by the employer. Rather you have other health insurance or not, you are not obligated to accept insurance under the policy when it is initially available to you. However, if you decline coverage under your employer's health plan, there are no further obligations to your employer. Some employers may offer monetary compensation for those employees paying for their own health insurance outside of the group plan, but they are not required by law to do so. Depending on the type of coverage being offered to you by your employer, you may still have access to your current physician. Most health plans provide out-of-network benefits, but your share of cost will be higher than if you use physicians within the network. If you are required to contribute to the premium under your husband's health insurance plan, it might make financial sense to pay the higher co-pay for visiting your doctor. This is assuming that you would not be contributing to the premium payment on the coverage available through your employer.