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Enforcement to Collect Medical Support

Quick Facts

Medical support can be collected by means similar to child support enforcement..

Child Support Enforcement Services

The public authority must take the necessary steps to establish and enforce any order for medical support if the joint child receives public assistance or a parent completes an application for services from the public authority.

This responsibility is similar to ordinary support enforcement.

Enforcement Remedies

Minnesota law provides that the remedies available for collecting and enforcing child support apply to medical support.

For the purpose of enforcement, the following are additional support:

the costs of individual or group health or hospitalization coverage;
dental coverage;
medical costs ordered by the court to be paid by either parent, including health care coverage premiums paid by the obligee because of the obligor's failure to obtain coverage as ordered;
liabilities established under this subdivision.

A parent who fails to carry court-ordered dependent health care coverage will generally liable for the joint child's uninsured medical expenses. A parent's failure to carry court-ordered coverage, or to provide other medical support as ordered, is a basis for modification of a support order.

Payments by the health carrier or employer for services rendered to the dependents that are directed to a parent not owed reimbursement must be endorsed over to and forwarded to the vendor or appropriate parent or the public authority. A parent retaining insurance reimbursement not owed to the parent is liable for the amount of the reimbursement.