I have written a lot about joint legal custody and health insurance or physical custody recently. However, the issue of health insurance should always be addressed in any parenting time agreement as well. The joint legal issue that I have been writing about is a broad issue that relates to significant decisions involved in raising your children, such as education, health care, religious and cultural training and extra-curricular activities. When the parent with the majority of parenting time makes those important decisions, frequently, the parent with limited parenting time has no input at all, much less a say.
The issue of health insurance is unique and one that may not occur to non-lawyers involved in litigation or an agreement to address child custody issues. There is no question that one parent should be responsible for maintaining health insurance for the child, if possible. However, in today’s day-to-day circumstances concerning marriage, there may not be only one source of health insurance. It is important to assess what type of coverage is available, what the costs are, and how the costs can be split up.
Obviously, a parent with health insurance should be able to maintain coverage for the other parent as well. However, if the parents are on speaking terms and are able to cooperate to an extent, another option is that the children can be on one parent’s policy through the other parent’s employer. As part of the agreement to share health insurance costs, a percentage of the premium can be factored into child support. In the event that a third-party source of health insurance is available, such as the other parent’s employer, the percentage of that cost can be added to child support or otherwise be shared equally by the parents.
As in most things, the primary concern when making a decision that will affect your child is what is in the best interest of the child. If you are the custodian of a child, you have the ability to make medical decisions for your child. Regardless of whether that child’s health insurance will be under your health insurance plan or the health insurance plan of the other parent, each parent needs to work with the other and have a good understanding of the coverage provided through the health insurance. Make up a list of the various types of coverage that are available, paying special attention to those that are not covered, leaving them blank. Figure out how much you are both spending and what you are both covered for. You may find that you and the other parent should be using the same doctor and that many more things in common with respect to health insurance than you once thought.
For more information on child custody and health insurance, you can visit Child Welfare Information Gateway.
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