Tag Archives: children’s healthcare

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Divorced? Get your child’s health records. Here’s how.

Child With Clothes Of Doctor Playing Toy

How do you get your child’s health records after a divorce?

This is a question I get asked quite often. The answer is that both parents have access to their child’s health records–no matter what.

Many parents are surprised by this. One of our readers, Sally, assumed that because she had sole custody of her daughter, her ex-husband had no visitation and Sally pays for all of her daughter’s health costs including insurance that she could exclude her husband from getting a copy of her daughter’s health records. This is almost never the case. Unless one of the parents has lost all parental rights – which is rare – they have a right to their child’s health record.

This is important for you to know since some doctor’s offices get confused about this. They might ask for a copy of the Judgement of Divorce to put in your child’s medical record. No matter what the Judgment of Divorce says about custody, it is very rare that both parents will not have equal access to the records.

It is also important to know that health issues generally must be discussed with both parents. For example, in Michigan, both parents must discuss:

  1. health issues
  2. religious issues, and
  3. schooling.

If you fail to inform your spouse of these issues, you could be in trouble with the courts. Although it may be difficult to discuss, it is important for both parents to be aware of these matters. This is especially true if the parents share custody. The child should never be used as the “go-between” to communicate the issues that are important. Both parents, whenever possible, need to find a way to talk about health issues so the child can receive proper care wherever he or she is. I know from experience that this is often “easier said, than done,” however, everyone should try their hardest to put their children first before themselves.

Tell us whether you have had any problems getting your children’s health records after a divorce? We’d love to hear from you!

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Divorced? How your kids get health insurance

Sad little girl listening her parents having an argument in a kiHow do your kids get health insurance after your divorce?

This is a question that every parent asks when going through a divorce.  The answer is it depends. There is no one-size-fits-all answer.

As many of you know, I got divorced when my daughters were 18 months and 3 1/2-years-old. Of course, it was a very frustrating time with many things to worry about. Where will we live? How will I pay the bills? But one of the things I didn’t think about was how my children would continue to have health insurance.

In my case, I was lucky. I worked at a hospital and my employer provided me with health coverage for my children so my girls could continue on my current health plan.

However, if your children are currently covered by their father’s health plan, how will they continue to get their insurance coverage? In most states, the answer will be in your divorce decree. The Judgement of Divorce states who must provide the health insurance for the children and who will pay for any health costs. This includes any deductibles or co-pays. Also, the Divorce Judgement will state how much each spouse will have to pay for any healthcare services that aren’t covered by insurance.

It might be a good idea to request that your spouse pay a certain amount of healthcare costs every month so you do not have to keep fighting over repayment. This is especially true since most doctors will require that any healthcare costs not covered by your insurance plan be paid at the time of the service. It is rare for doctors to agree to bill for those services later.

It is always best to try and come to a reasonable agreement about who will be responsible for the health coverage in advance. It is also important to specify what will happen if the spouse who is currently covering the children’s health insurance loses their job or their health coverage.

Have you had any problems getting your children health coverage after a divorce? How did you resolve it? We’d love to hear from you!

Check out how more information on insurance in our new book, Easy Healthcare: Choose Your Health Insurance.

Right now you can get a FREE copy of my ebook Easy Healthcare: Your Hospital Stay, by subscribing to MyHealthSpin.com.

MyHealthSpin helps you Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!