Q: Does health insurance count as a medical expense?
The court decree states "THAT the plaintiff/Father shall maintain appropriate full medical insurance coverage for the minor children. The parties shall do a 50/50 split on uninsured medical, dental, psychological, orthodontic, and prescription expenses. When a party pays an expense as addressed herein, the paying party must present the other party with a copy of the statement, invoice or bill or any other evidence of the charge or its payment within thirty (30) days, and the other party shall reimburse the paying party for one-half of this expense within thirty (30) days after being presented with the bill."
The father has demanded that I pay for medical and dental insurance for one of the two children. From what I understand, that this is his responsibility. I have paid this but will be switching jobs soon with a loss of income and will not be able to continue this extra monetary payment. Is health and dental insurance the responsibility of both of us or just him? Thank you
A:
The cost of the health insurance is the father’s responsibility.
The language cited does not mention dental insurance. Either parent can, but is not required to, provide dental insurance. But the language cited does not require either parent to reimburse the other for the cost of dental insurance.
So you are not required to reimburse him for half of the dental insurance premium and he is not required to provide it. Depending on what half of the premium is, you should judge for yourself whether it may be something you should do as it may ultimately save you on your 50% of the cost of your children’s dental care.
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