Are medical expenses part of child support?
If you are a Minnesota parent who is divorced from your children’s other parent, your divorce decree may contain a medical support provision setting forth which of you is to provide medical support for your children. Usually this provision has to do with which of you is to carry your children on your insurance plan.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services explains that some divorce decrees, however, also include how much each of you must pay for uninsured and unreimbursed medical and/or dental costs. If you have paid such an expense that your former spouse should have paid, you may file a claim with the child support office or file a motion with the court asking that you be reimbursed by your former spouse.
Formal request to other parent
Before getting either the child support office or the court involved, you must, within two years after paying such an expense, send your former spouse a written request for repayment. This request requires two documents: a Notice of Intent to Collect Unreimbursed and/or Uninsured Medical/Dental Expenses form and an Affidavit of Health Care Expenses. Both forms are available online.
If your former spouse does not respond to your written request within 30 days, you can choose to file a motion with the court or to ask the child support office for help. If you choose the child support office, they will need copies of the following:
- The Notice of Intent you sent to your former spouse
- The Affidavit of Health Care Expenses you sent to your former spouse
- The bills and receipts you listed on the Affidavit
- The Explanation of Benefits page of your insurance policy
If you are the custodial parent seeking reimbursement from your children’s noncustodial parent, that amount is added as a past due amount to the child support payments. If you are the noncustodial parent seeking reimbursement from the custodial parent, your child support obligations may be reduced by 20 percent per month until the reimbursement amount is “paid” in full. While this information should not be taken as legal advice, it can help you understand the process and what to expect.