Who is responsible for a minors medical bills- The guardian or the person providing insurance?
In thе state οf Missouri whο іѕ responsible fοr a child's unpaid medical bills? I provide insurance tο a step-child аnd hаνе nο legal rights tο thе child. Thе child's legal guardian takes thе patient tο thе doctor ( I never know whο οr whеn). Therefore thе guardian fills out thе paperwork аnd thе unpaid bills gеt sent tο thеіr house. Mу fеаr іѕ thаt thе amount nοt paid bу mу insurance company wіll never gеt paid аnd I wіll nοt know. Whο wіll thеу gο аftеr?
Jυѕt tο lеt people know…i οnlу provide insurance fοr thе child bυt hаνе nο legal connections besides marriage.
EW, Home insurance is actually very flexible. I'm not familiar with all the fine print of my home policy, but my homeowners insurance agent is always a phone call away. Try contacting your agent or a homeowners agent in your town. http://www.americaschoicetoday.com/Home-Insurance.html They should be able to help you.
the person who has legal guardian of the child. since you have no legal rights as to the child's welfare your not responsible for any bills not paid by insurance.
The guardian of the child is responsible for all things related to the care, well-being and maintenance of the child. That you provide insurance is all well and good but you are not the guardian; at best you are an interested 3rd-party (non-custodial parent?)
No doctor or hospital will treat, without a legal guardian there. Whoever that person is, signed a financial responsibility form, BEFORE the child was treated. That person is legally on the hook for any medical bills incurred at that time.
Of course, family court might well assign any unpaid balances to one parent or the other, or divide the balance between the two.
It should be the legal guardian unless you signed any papers with insurance company that stated YOU will be responsible for all costs after insurance payments are made. That's a normal clause of Ins. There may have been the assumption once you signed that, that you willingly agree to be the person to collect reimbursement from the guardian.
If that's the case, & guardian does not make pym'ts to you, then your option is small claims court or a civil suit.
Well, every state has state health insurance for children. They're either low cost or free. You can apply for the program for your step child. You don't have to provide insurance for the child. You can apply as a guardian.
In order to qualify for this benefit program, you must be under 19 years of age, not covered by health insurance (including Medicaid), a US national, citizen, legal alien, or permanent resident, and you must have an annual household income before taxes of less than $17,961 if one person lives in the household; $24,241 if two people live in the household; $30,521 if three people live in the household; $36,801 if four people live in the household….