I'm not quite sure.. I'm sure you'll get some better advice, just wanted to share that My BS's therapist's office had the other party's insurance on there for years after they weren't involved. They asked me about the insurance, I told them that had nothing to do with me and they said it was up to me to have it removed. I told them I couldn't as I hadn't spoken to them in X amount of years. They also had my BS on state insurance so I don't get how they had him on both and then when mine was on there, they didn't take them off.

Sorry, I'm sure that was no help whatsoever.

But she has admitted to trying to ruin your credit so I don't blame you for looking into it. If you don't get the answers you need here, talk to your insurance agency as well as the health care providers. I only talked to the health care providers but they said the insurance agencies had to remove it themselves.

I had access to all of the other party's insurance but I didn't take advantage.

I'm not sure myself. I bet you could call your doctor's office and ask to talk to their billing department and ask them. They would would know the ins and outs of billing.

I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that she could ruin your credit. I wouldn't do it if I were you.

I would call your insurance provider directly.

BM took SD to ER 3 times last summer. DSO specifically told her to go to the clinic we use as the PCP, the copay was cheaper than ER visit...sprained ankle, bronchitis that was not a ER type of injury. BM did want she wanted and went to the ER.

We never saw the copay bills from the hospital, they went to BM bc she signed the papers. But we started getting mail with BMs name and our mailing address. These were the for xray readings. DSO had to call multiple times and change the address, give them the insurance info repeatedly before they stopped sending them.

You will not get anywhere with your insurance company. Believe me as I work for a health insurance company. Unless you are calling about a specific claim situation they will not answer your questions.

The bill will come in your name since you are the subscriber. If BM tries to change the address and contact info, I think the people who work at the hospital or doctors office will question it because you will be listed as the subscriber on the insurance card and on the account. They also typically ask to see ID at the time of the visit. I worked in a doctors office for 6 years so I'm comfortable giving you my opinion. Have the kids been to the doctors yet under your insurance? If not then perhaps you should make an appointment for them to have their yearly physical and/or establish care. This way, you can fill out all the paperwork and present the insurance card and billing info. You can also have it noted in their chart that any and all info changes have to be submitted by you however, I think the fact that you are the subscriber is good enough.
I have another thought, let's say BM does make changes (even though I don't think she can). You will still receive an EOB (explanation of benefits) in the mail from your insurance company every time a bill is submitted from the hospital, doctors office, lab, radiology, etc). If you don't receive a corresponding bill directly from the doctor or facility that saw the child, then you can call the office or hospital and ask them to please send you another copy of the bill; that you didn't receive it.
I don't think BM will be able to get away with this. Pay attention to your EOB statements as they will tell you the doctors name, the date of service, the type of visit and it will include any and all tests that were done; that you are being charged.
I think you will be ok. You can always call the office and ask to talk to someone who handles the billing and discuss your concerns with them. I hope this helps.
Amber

I would not risk it - weird story - I am BM3 (stupid I know), but BM2 is insured with her new husband through his work insurance. When Anthem was hacked she had a letter come from Anthem for my BS8 - she re-married in 2012, when me and my ex had already split, so she and my ex-skids only went on his insurance then, my BS8 was NEVER on any type of insurance through them (obviously) yet somehow my BS8 managed to be linked to her husbands insurance?! I would avoid links as much as possible. I was never even married to BS8's dad!

We got a explanation of benefits letter from the insurance company addressed to BM at our address, but she was denied as she isn't on the insurance. Can you have a credit monitoring service? I just found out Geico has a service, that you pay for, but some credit card companies have monthly credit monitoring services for free.

Nope, why on earth would you give her a chance to ruin your credit when she's already done it to your DH. No doubt she likes your DH more than she like you so stealing your info won't mean anything to her. I know you want to do it for the kids or your DH, but she ruined that for them. You need to protect yourself and she needs to provide for her kids.

I'd be less concerned about her ruining your credit by switching address to hers and more concerned she'd have all skids bills forwarded to YOU. Then if you didn't pay you'd be turned over to collections.

I don't understand why you'd open this can of worms. Let skids ho on BMs insurance.

How it works in my office is like this-

There's a guarantor for the account and an insurance subscriber. Legally, the only people I can enter for the guarantor are the mother or father for a minor child (unless there's some other custody order in place). This person can be completely different than the subscriber.

Example- I have had a patient with insurance coverage under both bio parents and the stepfather. The only person listed on the account as legally responsible for any and all bills is the mother (as the guarantor since the child is under 18). The step parent isn't even listed in the billing section of the account, even though the child has coverage through his employer offered health insurance.

I've also come across other custody/co arraingments and what matters isn't the insurance, it's who is that guarantor. To be completely honest- I don't know 100% what happens to an unpaid bill; but that should be coming from the provider's office and not the insurance company. So, you should not be responsible for any charges even if you cover your skids- since you're not their legal guardian.

If you have any reservations though just listen to your gut and don't do it.

I agree with the others -- although the insurance company does not send a bill, you'll be able to see if there were uncovered charges (such as the copay) on the EOB. It'll have the charged amount, the amount paid by the insurance company, and the amount that is the patient responsibility. If you keep tabs on the EOBs, you can at least see how much is owed to the physician's office, and probably even inquire (since you're the policy holder) if those bills have been paid.

For a while my DH's insurance limited office visits to 5/year.... not per person, but PER FAMILY. He covered himself, me, my 2 kids, and his 2 kids (who lived with their mother). Any visits exceeding 5 per family per year were not covered and he would be responsible for 100% of the cost of the office visit. Of course, BM was then taking Skids to the MD for stuffy noses... and used up the 5 visits in the first 2 months of the new plan year. We were able to track that by the EOB's. Once she maxed out the 5 visits for the SKs, she would only give her DH's insurance information to cover subsequent visits stating the SK's were no longer covered under my DH.

The unfortunate thing is that my son had to see a neurologist in consultation and we had to pay 100% of the office visit.

I'm certainly not an expert on insurance, but my advice is: Stay Out Of It.

Why put yourself in the middle of this with a horrid BM in the picture. Nice of you to want to step up, but Don't Do It.

I don't think you would be responsible unless she told them your name and address. Even then, you can fight it with the provider or with the credit bureau, if it got that far.

I would DEFINITELY have fraud alerts placed on both your and your DH's credit reports...along with any children you might have. Just to be on the safe side. If you guys want to apply for any credit that puts an inquiry on your credit report, they will call you first to verify.

I don't know if the savings is worth the potential aggravation.

For what it's worth, my DH actually has really good insurance. All 3 skids are covered until they're 26, of course. But the interesting thing is that the skids' KIDS are covered as well, as long as the skids are in full time college.

So, for example, SD22 has a BS1. That child (DH's grandson) has been to the doctor any number of times, and DH (as I said) is the policy holder on the insurance. HOWEVER. SD22 is legally responsible for all bills not covered by the insurance policy. They bill her directly. No one has EVER come to us to pay her bills. Now, that's not to say they might not TRY - they want their money, and they'll take it from whoever will pay it. But legally, SD is responsible.

DH has also told SD that carrying her BS1 on his insurance is a privilege, not a right, and that if there are any problems with unpaid bills that affect us then he will no longer carry her BS1 on his insurance.

So you could try it, if you're willing, and give BM the same warning. It's a cost savings to her too, right? But in my case, SD is not out to get me so she's not *trying* to cause problems. In your case, with someone who admits they *are* trying to cause problems, I'm not sure I'd do it.