health insurance on adult children

[Tiggerlovr9000]

I have two adult children that are still covered under our health insurance. Neither is in school. We have told them that they are responsible for any copay or cost that insurance doesn't cover. They agreed but I am getting bills from their doctors, dentists etc. asking us for payment. Are we legally responsible? The kids say they are taking care of it but I worry about our credit report. What is everyone else doing?

[Scar]

I don't know, but the easy solution is to tell them to pay or you'll drop them.

[VWL Mom]

Not sure about your state but in NJ the primary insurance holder (in this case you or your spouse) would be legally responsible. I would sit them down real quick and explain to them, either they pay up or you will drop them from the insurance.

[Tiggerlovr9000]

Just don't understand how we have to be responsible for adult children. I know it sounds heartless. We are grateful to have health insurance. They are paying but not in the timely manner that the doctors etc. wants them to. Guess will just have to live with it and maybe make the bills Christmas and birthday presents. I just could not remove them off the policy..

[Pirate Granny]

Although my adult daughters all have medical insurance, I explained to them now adays you work for benefits and not wages...you can't afford to go without healthcare.

[BrerGnat]

Just don't understand how we have to be responsible for adult children. I know it sounds heartless. We are grateful to have health insurance. They are paying but not in the timely manner that the doctors etc. wants them to. Guess will just have to live with it and maybe make the bills Christmas and birthday presents. I just could not remove them off the policy..

You are responsible because, ultimately, the insurance is under your names.

I understand your hesitation to "drop them", but you might need to to protect your own financial interests. I lost medical insurance when I was 21 and had graduated from college. I had 6 months of Cobra, at MY own expense (back then, it was like $350/month) and then I was on my own, even though I was living at home for a year after graduation while DH finished up his military training. DH and I actually got married early so I could start using military health insurance benefits. :secret: We had our "wedding" almost a year later. It was really my only option, and since we were going to get married anyway, it was no big deal. I wasn't making near enough money to afford almost $400 in insurance payments and didn't qualify for health insurance thorough my employer because I was a Temp.

I would recommend having your kids at least call the doctors that they owe and try to work out a suitable payment plan so the bills don't go to collections.

[WDW&MK]

I would definitely suggest that you pay the bills on time and then request payment from your children. I have seen in my work that health insurance providers (drs offices, hospitals etc) are VERY quick to send things to collections. I am sure the industry has a lot of issues with nonpayment so I guess this is what it has evolved to. The policyholder is usually the responsible party. You probably indicated this on your initial enrollment application as well.

[TheVBs]

If your children are adults, I don't see how you would be legally responsible for their medical bills, even if you are covering their insurance. The bill from the doctor is simply what they're owed that insurance doesn't cover and is the responsibility of the adult who had the appointment. I would look into it more. Call the billing dept. at the doctor's office and ask them. If they live at a different address, make sure the bills are going to their homes, not yours.