Medical expenses and health insurance can be confusing for divorced parents. Here’s everything you need to know about uninsured medical expenses and child support in California.
Only one parent is required to pay for health insurance. According to California law, the parent with access to health insurance through an employer at little or no cost is required to cover their child(ren). Uninsured medical expenses are covered by both parents. Each parent is responsible for half of the uninsured expenses.
Health Insurance and Who Provides It
In families with divorced parents, only one parent is required to pay for health insurance. If one parent has access to health insurance through an employer, and the cost for the child to be covered under that health insurance is at little or no cost, then that parent will be responsible for their child’s health insurance. If said parent cancels their child’s health insurance, then they may be held in contempt of court. This means that if a child is covered under one parent’s health insurance before the divorce, they will continue to be covered after the divorce.
Parents should know that health insurance does include dental and vision coverage, so if these options are available at a reasonable cost, they must be included.
Related: 7 Factors That Determine Child Support in California
If neither parent has access to reasonably priced health insurance, the child support order will include a provision requiring each parent to obtain health insurance for their child should it become available. A parent who does not cover their child’s health insurance once it becomes available at a reasonable price will be held in contempt of court.
By California guidelines, health insurance is of a reasonable cost if the cost of the child’s insurance does not exceed five percent of the paying parent’s gross income. The cost of the child’s insurance is calculated by subtracting the cost for the individual coverage (parent only) from the family coverage (parent and child).
Does Child Support Cover Health Insurance?
In most cases, child support in California is not expected to cover health insurance. Any parent who pays out-of-pocket expenses for their child’s health insurance will be given an allowance for such costs when calculating the child support order. This allowance can help offset the costs of insurance.
Related: How to Get Child Support for Health Insurance in California
Uninsured Health Care Costs
In addition to child support costs, parents are also required to pay any uninsured or unreimbursed medical costs. This includes co-pays, prescriptions, deductibles, etc.
If a parent paid excessive health care costs, then they have 30 days to provide the other parent with an itemized statement of the costs. The costs should then be paid as follows:
- If a parent has already paid all of the costs, then they must provide proof of payment along with a request for reimbursement of their court-ordered share to the other parent.
- If a parent has only paid their court-ordered share of the costs, the parent shall provide proof of payment to the other parent, request the other parent to pay the remainder of the costs, and provide the reimbursing parent with any necessary information on how to make the payment to the provider.
- The other parent should make the reimbursement or pay the remaining costs within the time period specified by the ruling court. If no time is specified, they should pay it back in a reasonable time, not exceeding 30 days past the notification of the amount due.
If the reimbursing parent disputes a request for payment, that parent should pay the requested amount on time and may seek judicial relief afterward.
Am I supposed to pay half of my child’s medical expenses?
The cost of health insurance required by California state law is separate from other out-of-pocket, uninsured medical expenses. Unless a family’s child support order states otherwise, parents are only required to pay half of their child’s uninsured medical expenses.
Contact Us
If you have any more questions about uninsured medical expenses and child support in California, contact us. One of our experienced child support attorneys can help you get your child’s health coverage under your child support order.