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Law Clarifies Parentsí Obligation to Pay
Unreimbursed Medical Expenses
7/1/04
Reported by Mundy, Rogers & Associates
Over the last several years, there has been much
debate about which parent should pay for a childís
medical and dental expenses that are not reimbursed
by insurance. Different judges, in different courts,
in differing parts of the state, all interpreted the
law in different ways. This created confusion among
lawyers and litigating parents.
With a change in the law, effective July 1, 2004,
the custodial parent must now pay for a childís
unreimbursed health and dental bills up to $250.00
in a calendar year. All reasonable and necessary
health and dental expenses over $250 per calendar
year, per child, will be shared by the parents
proportionally, in the same percentage they
currently pay under the child support guideline
worksheet.
This change in the law establishes a bright-line
rule that should eliminate the confusion of
differing interpretations of the previous law.
Parents who are subject to previous court orders
requiring that they share of payment of their
childís unreimbursed health and dental expenses
should consult their family law attorney to see if
the July 1 change will alter the existing
obligation.
A Short Guide to Understanding Today's Medical Malpractice
Insurance Crisis
9/25/02
Excerpted from a guide by the Center for Justice
and Democracy, http://www.centerjd.org/
Insurance rates are rising in many states for doctors,
trauma centers, hospitals, HMOs, nursing homes and
other health care providers. No question, insurance
rates are up. It must be because claims are up.
Insurance companies must be paying out more money
to patients. Otherwise, why would they raise rates?
It makes intuitive sense. The problem is, it’s
not true. And it’s nothing new.
In 1989, Michael Hatch, then Commerce Commissioner
of Minnesota, released an investigation of two malpractice
insurers including the country’s then largest,
St. Paul. Hatch found that during the prior six years,
at the time of America’s last insurance “crisis,”
these companies had increased doctors’ malpractice
premiums some 300 percent. Yet the number of claims
against doctors had not gone up, the amount paid
out by insurance companies had not increased, and
the number of frivolous claims had not increased.
In response to a question by ABC’s Nightline
as to how this could happen, Hatch responded, “Because
they had the opportunity to do it. There was a limited
market. People need coverage. The companies knew
they had a corner on it, and they raised their rates
accordingly.” Sadly, not much has changed
in the world of insurance, except one thing –
add insurance companies to the list of corporations
whose business and accounting practices, mismanagement
and greed have wreaked havoc on the American public.
Some are starting to fight back. Americans for Insurance
Reform, a coalition of nearly 100 consumer groups
from around the country, is attempting to strengthen
state oversight of insurance industry practices
with regulatory and legislative proposals that would
end the current crisis – interestingly, proposals
not endorsed by organized medicine. For more information
on AIR and how you can help, see http://insurance-reform.org
or call 917/438-4608.)
This guide contains the latest information about
medical malpractice insurance for doctors, hospitals
and other health care providers. It also suggests
key questions that should be asked of those who
advocate “tort reform” as a solution
to an industry--wide insurance problem that recurs,
like clockwork, once every decade.
For the entire text of the report, go to http://www.centerjd.org/MediaGuide.pdf.
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