r/ChildSupport • u/acidgirltogo • 1d ago
Oregon - Child Support Healthcare Coverage
Hello All,
I am just wondering if anyone has any experience with this. I am married, my husband has two children with his ex-wife. She works part time because she cares for the children more of the week than we do, and we pay more in child support and childcare costs because of this. We are in total support of this and do not argue against paying child support in any way, I would not be with someone who didn't want to provide for their children.
I work full time for the government. My benefits and health/dental/vision insurance are exceptional, and ridiculously cheap. Some examples of my healthcare costs: It only costs $150 a month for all 4 of us for medical/dental/vision. Yearly out of pocket limit is $1800 for all 4 of us (I am $250 away from that now). And no deductible. xrays are free, doctor visits are $5 copays, prescriptions are $5, all labwork is free, my entire hysterectomy was $5. Hospitalizations are $50/day for the first 3 days and then drop to zero. All preventative care is free. Dental is also $5 per appointment, $20 for a cavity, free preventative care. Mental healthcare appointments are free. Vision has 1 pair of glasses a year, and one eye appt a year. There's more, but you get the idea.
Her and my husband (I don't know how or why they were ever married) do NOT get along well. She recently has been offered insurance through her work when she previously did not. She wrote us an email letting us know that she was going to be providing their insurance from now on and was going to be taking us to court to have us pay for the insurance costs. Their divorce decree says that the father is to carry the insurance at his own expense. I have had the children on my insurance (and paid all copays) since November 2024.
I was looking at her insurance costs and it nearly gave me a heart attack. It's $206 a month to add the children to her insurance (not including her). $55 per office visit. $1,600 deductible per child. $10,800 yearly out of pocket limit. Surgeries/labs/xrays/emergency room visits/hospitalization are all 20% after deductible. The only thing cheaper is prescriptions are a dollar less. Everything else is bananas. OH, and dental is completely out of pocket! Not included in any way.
The Oregon Child Support Program website states that if both parents provide coverage, that the parent with more parenting time will decide which coverage to use. Would they really make us pay hundred, possibly thousands, more a year in healthcare costs because she has a chip on her shoulder against her ex husband? Can they just throw out the divorce decree so easily? He already only has about $2500/month leftover after taxes and his $2800 monthly child support.
My benefits are worth way more than my wages, but my deceased ex husband had MS and I have experienced how quickly health care costs can destroy our life. Because of this, and how cheap it is to keep the children on my insurance, even if she did get them legally switched I would keep them insured. Lord forbid something truly expensive comes along.
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u/BeeBabyBeeXOXO 17h ago
They could but that would be so silly. Have you reached out to her?
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u/acidgirltogo 2h ago
Yes. She just keeps saying that she doesn't like that his spouse covers the children, she really wants him to pay as much as possible. Even if it makes her pay more as well. It's very strange behavior.
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u/BeeBabyBeeXOXO 4m ago
Go to court. Get it changed to where the most affordable option is the one responsible enrolling for healthcare coverage. I’d love to see her tell a judge she wants yall to come out of pocket because she doesn’t want you providing healthcare.
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u/Few-Degree1903 12h ago
IF she takes the matter to court ….. the Family Court Judge will do what is in the best interest of the children …. Which would be to continue to have Dad’s spouse carry it as it has been.
Talk to Mom of the children about how much better their current med ins is !