To avoid a spousal surcharge you must ensure that your spouse also enrolls in their own medical plan from their employer if they have access to an employer medical plan.
If your spouse is not employed and/or does not have access to employer sponsored health insurance then the spousal surcharge does not always apply.
You can also ensure that your marital status is also accurately reflected in your employer's system to help avoid any automatic deductions.
A spousal surcharge is an extra fee that employers will sometimes charge their employees whose spouses have access to their own employer sponsored health insurance but also choose to be covered under the employer's plan instead.
And so the most common way of avoiding the spousal surcharge is for your spouse to also enroll in their own employer's plan.
Some employer's may also require that you sign an affidavit to verify your spouse's coverage status and to also ensure that they are not eligible for coverage somewhere else.
Some employers will automatically deduct the spousal surcharge if your marital status is not specified or marked as married in their system so you must make sure that your marital status is reflected in your employer's system correctly to avoid the spousal surcharge.
Alternatives to spousal surcharges are providing wellness incentives and also preventing working spouses who are eligible for their own coverage through their own employer from being added to a plan and secondary coverage.