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Insurance Thing Happened but Not How I Thought it Would

LochnessStepMonster's picture

I posted months ago about SD7 needing braces and adding her to my insurance. Well that died down but now the problem is health insurance.

SD was on Medicaid/care but now BM has "earned out" of eligablity. I wish there was some kind of way to transition people out of that program instead of "you make 3 cents more and hour so you can afford everything now" but such is the situation.

At drop off BM asked DH if we could add SD to my insurance (how she knew the insurance was in my name or to even ask if it could happen is beyond me). He told her he would talk to me. When it gets to me of course I have questions. I think it boils down to it would be cheaper to add her to my insurance than it would be to add her to BM's. At least if you were looking from BM's POV. In truth I do know that once you have the family plan then we could have 10 or 15 kids, the cost is the same. I am guessing since SD had state coverage that BM had single insurance from her job and getting the family plan would really cut in to her check. It just boggles my mind how quick she jumped to "add to Lochness' plan".

SD is not my kid so I really have no way of adding her and I'm not interested at this point. They will do what they would have done if I wasn't in the picture. DH already said he knows its going to court. He said it shouldn't come down to me paying anything. I will if I have to but I'm not volunteering anything.

I like my job but I have been thinking of leaving for a while. I don't want to stay because I have to have insurance for a child that is not mine. It sets up way too many things for me to be responsible for in the future.

In all this I wonder if BM ever thinks "I should not have been such an @$$ to her in the beginning." I bet we will get some meddling class for OSIL

Comments

Cover1W's picture

I put the SDs on my plan to save DH money because he pays for it. However he's going to stop this soon because he's tired of paying child support and a hell of a lot of other things when the custody is 50/50. He can't be in the hole any longer. And he owes me several months of monthly premiums now (which he's good at paying back otherwise I wouldn't do it). If BM expected me to do it, I'd drop them as soon as I could with no hesitation.

So he's going to find out when BMs open enrollment is and transfer them then. There's no reason she can't provide in on her insurance. It's not defined in the CO so it's up to BM and DH to figure it out.

LochnessStepMonster's picture

I think open enrollment is the same for everyone, Novemberish. She just needs to suck it up

Disneyfan's picture

I hate the idea of my tax dollars being used to provide health insurance for kids with 2 able-bodied parents.

Your name should have never come up in that conversation. The kid's parents should have both looked at the options their employers provide then came up with a plan that they both could afford.

Neither one of them should be looking to provide their kid's insurance.

LochnessStepMonster's picture

I think my name was the first one to come up. And I think someone put BM up to asking about me. It just seems odd that she would think of me after all the fake hardship I put her through. DH has health insurance through me as well. We did it that way just because his last job closed down.

Acratopotes's picture

I'm sorry but there's no way I will add a skid to my plan..... not my responsibility... and if BM dares asking it I will laugh in her face.....

LochnessStepMonster's picture

DH got a call last night from none other than......OSIL. She called DH but he was in the restroom so I answered thinking it was his mom. (They have similar names and for whatever reason DH has his mom's first name in his contacts).

She wanted to know why SD couldn't get on my plan since it wouldn't cost me anything to add another person. Because she's not my kid. Well I married her brother so that makes me a little bit responsible to help with his daughter because "I knew what I was doing when I got in this relationship" LOL. Everyone is just bold.

OSIL says that she knows I can I just don't want to. She has a friend that used to work where I work and he said it could happen. So now we know where BM got her tip. I don't know who it is she knows but the key here is that I AM the one that works the job with insurance so the person needs to be in my household. SD is not and if I recall correctly in this brain of mine BM and OSIL were really against DH having anything the amounted to equal parenting status.

This friend of hers is probably a bio dad without custody that could add his bio kids to his insurance at the job he works.

Normally OSIL is bold but I don't know where this is coming from with her. Its just a tad bit out of character.

Acratopotes's picture

What did you say to SIL...

sorry SIL but SD is not my kid and not my responsibility.....
Sorry SIL but you will not tell me what to do with my plan and in my house
SIL.... eff off and mind your own business...
SIL, If you are so concerned about SD why not put her on your plan?

LochnessStepMonster's picture

OSIL I have no legal connection to SD to add her to my insurance.

Come to think of it I had problems adding biobaby to insurance because she has DH's last name. Imagine the hullabalu from trying to add SD who has BM's last name.

LochnessStepMonster's picture

Your last statement is what I am talking about. If DH has to start paying for a policy, is the cost worth it? Why am I making this decision at all?

Up to this point I had no idea what insurance BM had and I don't think DH did either. This came as a total surprise. And I'm not sure why OT was never ordered that DH pay part of medical expenses except that maybe the state calculates it as part of CD. I really don't know.

CBCharlotte's picture

I have all 4 skids added to my plan. Per the decrees, DH is responsible for providing insurance. When DH got laid off, I added him and everyone to mine. Like described above, whether you add 2 kids or 4 or 50, it all costs the same. If BM2 added SSs to her plan, we would have had to pay her for the premiums, so it just made financial sense to add them to my plan.

It is a bit of a pain (remembering to get BMs ID cards, helping them look up doctors even though I've sent them the info a milion times etc) but I prefer it to the alternative. When they were on DH's plan, BM2 would take SSs to any doctor she chose any time and DH was very disorganized. BM2 would announce to DH what he owed and DH would pay. Once we were married and they were on my insurance, all that changed.

BM2 turned in a ridiculous homemade excel sheet of everything we owed her. Unluckily for her, I work in insurance. I demanded bills for every expense (as the decree says). I checked every doctor and, lo and behold, quite a few were not in-network! Our decree specifically states that both parents must use in-network physicians and if they don't, that parent is responsible for the full cost. BM2 took SSthen6 to a psychologist since he was being a bully and didn't bother to ask about insurance since she just assumed DH would pay. BTW - the co-pay for an in-network psychologist was $20. Instead, she took him to an out of network one for $200 an hour and was stuck with the bill for almost $2,000. She tried to sneak it to DH and I had him send her a photocopy of that paragraph of the decree and a copy of the doctor's insurance acceptance showing they were out of network and a sheet of about 10 psychologists within 5 miles of her house that were in-network. She accepted defeat and said "Ouch, that was an expensive lesson to learn"

I've trained her now, and anytime she wants to go somewhere new she checks with me first to make sure they are in-network.

Long story short, *IF* you decide to add them to your insurance, check your decree first. See what you are responsible for vs. BM. make sure you know where you stand in terms of premiums, deductibles, expenses. The nice thing about being the policy holder is you have access to everything, so BM can't try and BS you. If there is no specific wording, I would get an amendment to the decree before you agree to add them.

Make sure it includes the following:
-BM is responsible to reimburse you for 1/2 of premium (I wish we had this. DH is responsible for 100% of the premium)
-BM is responsible for 1/2 of all deductibles, bills, expenses, etc. to be paid within 30 days of the receipt of the bill. BM will be responsible for any late fees accrued due to non-payment
-Both parents must use in-network care, or the parent who takes the dependent to the out-of-network care will be responsible for 100% of the payment
-If your BM is high conflict, I would put in a wording about each parent being responsible for first aid and other minor care (like buying tylenol, band aids, etc) while the child is in their care, otherwise you may have BM turning in a bill for 50% of a $5 bottle of children's motrin.

LochnessStepMonster's picture

I am saving this for futrue use.

One thing I think that could be different in my case is that I see most people have posts about divorce decrees. DH and BM were never married so whatever they have so far has been worked out in mediation. The most state involvement has been child support enforcement.

I'm not sure if mediation is the same as divorce negotiations but it could be the reason why DH has had atypical results.

CBCharlotte's picture

DO NOT under any circumstances add the kids to your plan without a FORMAL LEGAL agreement in place regarding costs. If you start going to mediation for this, feel free to PM me. There are wording in our decree I like, and some I wish was more clear. I can give you some ideas on what to be sure is included, and what I wish was included in ours.

step.life's picture

With anyone who has the skids on insurance, are you concerned for your or your bios privacy when providing BM the policy information? For example could she call and pretend to be you and find out/change information?

CBCharlotte's picture

I don't give BMs access to the account. That is why they have me look up who is in-network. This way they can't see my business or DH's business. To make changes, they would have to do so during the enrollment period and it is all done online through my company. Every time I've called in they've asked me for a ton of info there is no way BM would know (hell, DH probably doesn't even know the answers).

HIPPA violations are VERY expensive and, in my experience as an insurance insider, people are overly cautious. I have to go through all sorts of hoops every time I have to call SD16's doctor's office to ensure I am given access to info. SD16 is a Type 1 Diabetic and BM, Her doctor, Me, and Insurance all works together to make sure she has everything she needs.

CANYOUHELP's picture

You should have never put his kids on your policy, period. Now, you have an expectation established (that you are even footing the bill for).

As soon as possible, give ample notice and drop these kids, unless you want to support them for eternity.

LochnessStepMonster's picture

No kids on my policy except the one with half my DNA. But setting up an expectation of support is a point of contention. I feel like I would be blurring the line