How does this work (ex responsible for certain % of medical bills)??

[StephandOwen]

Our court order has ex responsible for 75% of uncovered medical and me at 25%. Up until now I've never done anything with that, since ds has Medicaid so his uncovered isn't too much. I just pay it out of pocket and let it go. Not a big deal.

However, ds went to the dentist today for his check-up and they finally said the dreaded "b" word...... braces The dentist said we need to wait for two of his teeth to fall out (they're loose so should be within a month or so) and see how the 2 permanent ones grow in. For sure there isn't enough room for them (the top front ones already fell out and grew permanent ones so the ones next to them got knocked loose and are now crooked so there is NO room for the new ones to come in once those fall out). If the new ones grow in crooked but in front of the bottom teeth when he closes his mouth then we can wait until 11 or 12 to do braces. If the new teeth grow in crooked but behind the bottom teeth when he closes his mouth then the dentist said they would probably want to start braces in about 1 1/2 years (so around age 8).

By the time ds gets braces dp and I will be married so ds will be on his insurance (which I'll bet money on they don't cover braces because they suck and barely cover anything). Average cost for our city for braces for youth is around $6000. I will certainly be making ex pay for his portion of this (and any other large expenses that arise after ds is put on dp's insurance.... for the last 2 years he's averaged one hospital stay of 3-4 days for the past 2 years..... averaging $12,000 each time.... yikes! Plus countless ER visits). Unless, of course, ex agrees to sign over his parental rights so dp can adopt ds.... then I'll gladly pay for everything out of pocket

Anyway, so how does that work? Do I need to pay the whole bill upfront and then ask ex to reimburse? What if he doesn't? Can I show the court order to the ortho and only pay my % and let the ortho deal with going after ex for his %? Do I pay the whole thing upfront and then submit the bill to the child support people and let them go after him to reimburse me (they take child support directly out of his paycheck now)?

Does it matter that the court order (and ex) are in Michigan but ds and I live in Kentucky (where the ortho treatment will obviously take place)?

[KalamazooMom]

It works best if you can have the office bill each of you for your portion. Some times they do that sometimes they don't. Definitely start by asking if they will do that and provide contact info for your X.

[Bad Mama Jama]

i would also look at trying to have the office bill first. because the reality is that quite often, you would have to wrangle the person or armwrestle them to get your money back. i would see if they would be willing to handle the hard part for you that way.

[Avani]

Well my ex is responsible for half of the bills. For our dentist they did bill him for his half but he hasn't paid it at all. His share is now at over $1000 and they are getting angry. Meaning if they aren't paid in full soon my kids can't go there anymore

[Bad Mama Jama]

that is the downside of it. then they will also send him to collections, but that won't be your issue. as Avani stated the problem kicks in when they say that they will deny any further service to your family. now that is the downside of the shared billing. but the sad reality is that i would rather have a collection agency calling the other party to get the money rather than me trying and knowing that i have nothing coming. let it sit on their credit report for failure to pay.

[violet_]

Wow -- 6 grand is a lot. Maybe before you do it you could see if he wants to put DS on his dental plan if he has one to see if it helps? Of course, I always think of how reasonable people should interact, and I know your ex is not always reasonable. But a lot of plans require a year of coverage before they'll pay for braces, so checking out those options might be good, if he cooperates.

In our case, of course, DH is just told what the bill was and he sends his half. In your case, I'm guessing you can't rely on the father to do this. I'd check with the billing at the dentist and see if they can split it. I wonder if there's a way to pre-approve that he will pay? The different state thing might matter too. hmmm.. Good luck on this. As you say, it might inspire him to terminate his rights.

[StephandOwen]

Originally Posted by violet_

Wow -- 6 grand is a lot. Maybe before you do it you could see if he wants to put DS on his dental plan if he has one to see if it helps?

Hahahaha..... ex was ordered by the judge to get a medical/dental plan for ds.... oh..... 6 years ago. Hasn't happened yet and I'll be willing to bet a million dollars it'll never happen.

I will go into the ortho bills hoping ex ends up paying his portion but being well aware I might have to Either way, ds will get whatever he needs.

[MariesMama]

IIRC, in Michigan, you can file your medical costs with the child support office and they sort of tack it on to the overall child support bill. I have the forms somewhere ... I'll look in my email and try to find them.

[MariesMama]

Michigan FOC Forms You want FOC 13a.

I was required to send ex a copy of the bill, then I filed this form (and sent a copy to him via certified mail) about a week later, since I knew he wasn't going to pay anything anyway. I didn't use a lawyer at all. His portion of the bill was tacked on to his arrearage.

[MariesMama]

I should probably mention that going through the FOC will still require you to pay for it all up front, and wait for them to collect.

[violet_]

Originally Posted by StephandOwen

Hahahaha..... ex was ordered by the judge to get a medical/dental plan for ds.... oh..... 6 years ago. Hasn't happened yet and I'll be willing to bet a million dollars it'll never happen.

Oh. Right. My bad. My husband does everything he's supposed to in this realm and I forget that some of these guys really are the ones who give fathers a bad name. 6 years ago and they can't get him on his insurance? Yeesh. Good luck with this one. Sounds like the state will have to get involved.

[blessedwithboys]

i've never had a dr willing to bill separately. my ds has medicaid, but the only dentist i know of (LOVE him!) that is good with ds's SPD stopped taking medicaid so i pay a couple hundred every six months and then give exdh the bill. 15 days later he doesnt pay me. LOL between 50% of recent med bills, a huge hunk he assumed in our divorce, and the back cs he has missed since january, he owes about 5k. in my state i need to file a motion for contempt to get it added to arrears. they wont garnish more than $20/wk for back $, in addition to current support, or so i've been told by CSE. at this rate, he still wont be caught up by the time ds is 18, and now he's living on unemployment til his SSD (hopefully!) starts. grrr

[Bad Mama Jama]

Originally Posted by MariesMama

Michigan FOC Forms You want FOC 13a.

I was required to send ex a copy of the bill, then I filed this form (and sent a copy to him via certified mail) about a week later, since I knew he wasn't going to pay anything anyway. I didn't use a lawyer at all. His portion of the bill was tacked on to his arrearage.

that is sweet! i like this one!

[RollerCoasterMama]

Oh hey! They have that for my state too! I never would have looked!