Prosecutor's Office

WHEN IV-D CAN ASSIST IN COLLECING MEDICAL EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS

One benefit of Title IV-D services is enforcement of uninsured medical expense repayments.

Before our office can become involved, the custodial parent must first try to informally collect the uninsured medical expenses. The custodial parent should contact the non-custodial parent directly and ask him/her to pay the share owed by the noncustodial
parent. The custodial parent should also provide copies of the receipts and bills to the other
parent.

In most cases, a custodial parent is ordered to pay a yearly amount of uninsured medical expenses. The parents share responsibility for any uninsured medical expenses above that amount. The noncustodial parent is not required to pay ANY part of the uninsured medical bills until the custodial parent has paid out his/her ‘base obligation’ for the year.

The custodial parent must give the non-custodial parent written proof to show that (s)he has already paid the ‘base obligation’ and that the custodial parent has paid for uninsured medical expenses above that base amount.

If the non-custodial parent refuses to pay his/her share of the uninsured medical expenses after the custodial parent has done what is outlined above, our office will be able to assist in asking the Court to order reimbursement. We can help ONLY if you provide the four items listed in the next column.

DOCUMENTS THE CUSTODIAL PARENT MUST PROVIDE FOR IV-D TO INTERVENE AS TO UNINSURED MEDICAL EXPENSES:

• A copy of the original bill for the medical care or service. This bill should include the child’s name, the date of medical care and the full amount charged.

• A copy of the child’s insurance benefit statement. It should indicate the part of the bill the insurance carrier says the parent must pay.

• A copy of any check, money order, or receipt that would show proof of payment on the portion of the expense the insurance carrier says the parent must pay.

• A list, from your current support order, of the breakdown of responsibility for uninsured medical expenses. This list would include the amount the custodial parent must pay as a ‘base obligation’ each year, and what percent of the rest of uninsured medical costs will be paid by each parent.

**Please be aware that the IV-D office will not calculate for you what amount each parent owes for uninsured medical expenses. Neither does the IV-D office obtain for you copies of the medical bills, insurance statements or other documents you need to calculate the uninsured medical expenses. These are your obligations.

**Our office is able to assist with enforcement ONLY after you have met these obligations. We will take NO ACTION to recover any uninsured expenses if you do not provide us with all the needed information, as listed above.

EXAMPLE 1:
If the order indicates Mom is responsible for 35% and Dad is responsible for 65%, then a breakdown showing the total amount of the uninsured medical expense which each party owes would be:
MEDICAL BILL $500
INSURANCE PAID $400
UNINSURED BALANCE $100
Mom’s 35% share $ 35
Dad’s 65% share $ 65

EXAMPLE 2:
If you are ordered to pay a ‘base obligation’ of the uninsured medical expenses before dividing the remaining balance by the percentages, you must show how the ‘base obligation’ was paid. For example, if the order indicates that the uninsured expenses will be divided 50% to Mom and 50% to Dad, after Mom pays the first $200 of uninsured medical bills each calendar year, then:
MEDICAL BILL $500
INSURANCE PAID $200
UNINSURED BALANCE $300
Mom’s ‘Base Obligation’ $200
BALANCE REMAINING $100
Mom’s 50% share $ 50
Dad’s 50% share $ 50