HEALTH INSURANCE
 Health
insurance coverage is considered part of child support. Court
orders will include an order that requires the parent paying
support to obtain and maintain health insurance for his/her
child(ren) if it is available from the employer at a reasonable
or low cost. If the employee does not do so, a National Medical
Support Notice (NMSN) will be sent to you. The NMSN is a court
order that requires you to enroll the children in your employee’s
health insurance plan and authorizes you to deduct the cost
of health care premiums from your employee’s earnings.
If there are any changes to the health insurance coverage,
or if the insurance becomes unavailable at any point, you
must notify the Department of Child Support Services.
If health insurance coverage is available, you must send
Part B of the National Medical Support Notice to the Plan
Administrator within 20 business days after you receive the
notice. The Plan Administrator should then review the notice
for compliance with applicable state and federal regulations
for withholding. The Plan Administrator shall send the Plan
Administrator Response form to this Department within 40 business
days. If the Plan Administrator reports that there is more
than one option available under your health benefits plan,
the Department of Child Support Services, in consultation
with the parent receiving child support, will select the desired
health plan. The medical cards, informational booklets, etc.,
should be sent directly to the parent receiving child support
(the address is listed on the NSMN you received) or to the
Department of Child Support Services.
If no health insurance coverage is available to your employee,
complete and sign the Declaration of No Health Insurance Coverage
(Part A of the NSMN) on the reverse of the Application &
Order and mail the form within 20 days to the Department of
Child Support Services.
LAPSE IN COVERAGE:
If there is any lapse in coverage (such as seasonal employment),
you must contact this Department within 10 business days of
the lapse. Please include the following information:
a. The reason for the lapse
b. Indicate if the lapse will be temporary
c. The date the coverage will resume or if the lapse is
temporary
LIABILITY:
If you willfully fail to comply with the National Medical
Support Notice you can be held liable for any amounts incurred
for health care services that would otherwise have been covered
by insurance. If you willfully fail to comply with this order,
you can also be held in contempt of court.
LIMITATIONS:
If health insurance coverage is available but the deduction
of the monthly child support payment and health insurance
premiums result in the employee’s net disposable earnings
being less than 50% (net income after mandatory deductions
such as State, Federal and local taxes, Social Security and
Medicare taxes) the Plan Administrator must contact the Department
of Child Support Services. We will inform the Plan Administrator
to withhold for either current support or health insurance
premiums.
YOUR EMPLOYEE’S RESPONSIBILITY:
- Family Code Section 3765 states that employees can contest
the medical support order based on several grounds. However,
you, as the employer, must proceed to comply with the employer’s
responsibilities as indicated in the National Medical Support
Notice until the child support agency notifies you to discontinue
withholding medical premiums.
- You can inform your employee that if they disagree with
the medical support order, they should discuss the matter
with the child support officer assigned to their case.
- The employee can also hire an attorney to address this
matter in court.
CONTACT PHONE NUMBERS:
If you have additional questions about child support wage
assignments or medical assignments, call:
Employer Liaison
Department of Child Support Services
Santa Barbara County
Phone: (805) 346-1413
Fax: (805) 346-7492
CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENT ADDRESS:
State Disbursement Unit
P.O. Box 989067
West Sacramento, CA 95798
Please include the following information for each employee
withholding in order to process the payment quickly
and accurately to your employee’s account:
|
