Does the baby’s last name have impact on insurance claims?
A few days ago, I had a baby. The father of my newborn hasn’t had a job for the past few months and has fallen on hard times. When word got round that I was pregnant and he wanted to stay involved in the child’s life, his family agreed to help him go back to school, and find a job.
Now, being 21 and a full time student myself, I am lucky enough to fall under my parent’s insurance, and supposedly so does the baby. My family is advising me that he shouldn’t sign the birth certificate because to do so would mean that the insurance company would deny the claims and declare that the baby’s father should pay for it (which, being that he has no job at the time, would not be possible), and on top of that, he would have to be paying child support, and with no income means that he would go to jail.
My question is, exactly how much of what they are saying is true? To a certain extent, it makes sense to me, but at the same time, I don’t want to deny our child his father.
My parents are not claiming that the baby is theirs. According to them, the insurance company said that if I was their dependent, then my child would be able to get the insurance for as long as I am eligible – age 24, or until I graduate college, whichever comes first.
I don’t quite understand ALL of what is going on, which is kind of why I’m asking.
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A baby’s last name makes no difference on insurance claims.
However, you should investigate further to be sure that your baby falls under your parents’ policy.
Normally, the only way that a grandchild is eligible under an employer-sponsored health insurance policy is if the grandparents have legal custody of the baby. And they can ask for proof.
Unless your parents are planning to scam their employer by claiming that the baby is their child?
You should clarify everything before adding the baby to the insurance policy, because many employers are doing dependent eligibility audits.
In an audit, they can (and will) ask for legal documents such as birth certificate copies, legal guardianship or custody papers, tax returns showing that a dependent is claimed on your taxes, etc.
If your parents get audited and can’t provide legal documentation showing that the baby is entitled to be on the policy, the insurance company can take back every time that they ever paid for the kid. If that happened, you and your parents would have to re-pay all of the medical providers. And, if your parent’s employer determined there was deliberate fraud by putting the baby on the insurance plan, your parent could even lose his/her job.
DO NOT add the baby to the plan unless you are *absolutely certain*that grandchildren are covered without the grandparent/employee needing to have legal custody of the child. Do not “fib” or “fudge” information just to get the baby on the plan – that would be committing insurance fraud and is illegal. You would be better off enrolling the baby on Medicaid or the state CHIP plan now, than to get caught 2 years down the road and be on the hook for all the bills. (When it would be too late to enroll for Medicaid at that point.)
But, again, to answer the question you ask…a child’s last name is irrelevant for insurance purposes. Many children have different last names than their parents, due to blended/step-parent families, women choosing to keep their maiden names but giving husband’s last name to the kids, etc.
The baby’s father signing the birth certificate has nothing to do with the baby’s insurability. If the baby is truly eligible under the terms of your parent’s insurance plan, then it wouldn’t make any difference whether the father was on the birth certificate.
Furthermore, if the baby’s father isn’t on the birth certificate, it could keep your baby from getting enrolled on the father’s insurance in the future. (Once he gets a job with benefits.) His future employer could ask for a birth certificate copy showing him as the father, and if he can’t provide one, it could be a hassle for him to prove the child is his and have him enrolled in insurance. (Especially if the child lives with you and not him.) I would highly recommend having him sign the birth certificate, because it could cause more problems down the road if he doesn’t.
Sounds like your parents are pressuring you to do something shady, which is a shame. If that man is your child’s father, he has every right to be on the birth certificate. You’re a grown woman and a mother…do the right thing and decide for yourself.
Edit to add: If the insurance is through your parents employer, they need to confirm with their HR/Benefits office, because that’s who determines eligibility to be on the policy. (Not the insurance company – the employer.) And if the employer/HR person says its okay, then you should be all set. The last name will make absolutely zero difference and having the baby’s father on the birth certificate will make absolutely zero difference.
The only reason I stress that you should clarify with the employer that the child is eligible is because its a *highly unusual* situation that grandchildren are automatically eligible to be on a policy. It could be true, but I’d recommend clarifying with the employer to be certain.
I used to work in dependent eligibility audits, and I’ve had to remove a lot of people from benefit plans that they shouldn’t have been on in the first place. A large portion of those were grandchildren that the employee enrolled on the plan just because they “thought it was allowed.” Again, if the HR person confirms that its acceptable, then that’s fine. But its a very rare employer group plan that allows it. (And you and your parents should consider yourselves incredibly lucky if it does!)
But anyhow, go ahead and allow him to sign the birth certificate. He has every right to be on there.
You are receiving some very bad advice.
Sarah is right. Hope you listen.
I wouldn’t deny my child the right to have the father’s name on the birth certificate no matter what amount of money that it costs.
You should have checked to see if your parents policy covers your pregnancy and baby. I would bet that it doesn’t. After you either get married or have children you may be considered independent. Call your insurance company ASAP and ask them.
The baby’s last name does not have an impact on insurance claims.
The baby does NOT fall under your parents’ insurance. Unless you have someone from the health insurance company telling you that (not the HR department at work, but the HEALTH insurance company), that information is NOT CORRECT. That baby is NOT a legal dependent of your parents, unless they legally adopt the baby, and you legally give up all rights to it.
Dad not signing the birth certificate, means you’d have to fight him for child support. He’d have to fight you for visitation. The insurance doesn’t matter, as, in my opinion, your father’s policy doesn’t cover his grandchild ANYWAY.
You need to contact your insurance company and ask them. The answers above are USUALLY true, but not always. There are some self-funded plans that cover dependents of dependents and if your parents health insurance plan covered the pregnancy, then this is probably true on your plan.
As far as the birth certificate goes and how this affects child support, I think you need to get with a social worker. Call your ob/gyn and ask if they can refer you somewhere. A lot of things you are asking are dealing with state laws and no one on this board knows what state you are in and how those laws work.
For example, in Texas (where I live) you get child support if you ask for it or apply for gov’t assistance. Otherwise, the state does not care if you get child support or not and fathers do not wind up in jail.
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