Parent of pregnant teen, who is financially responsible for her medical bills?

Question

My daughter is just barely 17 & 5 months pregnant. She does not want to live me. She & the father of the baby have the option of staying with my ex-husbands niece. She currently recieves Medi-Cal ( state funded free health care) which will cover herself and the baby-if she lives with me. She can qualify on her own if she moves out. My question is who is responsible for her medical bills then as she will no longer be included in my household? I have recieved confusing answers from the "state"--one says that I will be billed for any assistance that she recieves. If I am financially responsible then why aren't the baby daddy parents, and her own father responsible as well? I will have private insurance in March but I suspect that I cannot include her if she does not live with me. I can't lie about it because auntie lives in another County.Seeing a doctor in that county will send up red flags. There are of course other issues, but I need to know about the legal implications.~Thank you.

Thank you for the responses! Really helped to give me some clarity. Am pretty sure that I will be holding the bag & she'll be holding the baby. Who knows, I may end up with the baby too. Forgot to mention father is a minor as well ( he wll be 18 when baby is born.)To his credit, he is sticking by her--for the time. If they get married with both parents consent am I off the hook?

Answer 1

Legally, the baby's father or his parents cannot be held responsible until paternity is established. Paternity can be established by either: 1) naming him on the birth certificate or 2) blood test. Obviously, both of these occur after the birth takes place.
The medical expenses of a pregnant woman are her responsibility, or if a minor, her parents.

If you are lucky, the babys' father or his parents may choose to help with the expenses. That would certainly be the responsible thing to do.

Be sure to go apply for the WIC program, if you have not already. They will provide valuable health info, help with breastfeeding or formula.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I work in labor and delivery and there is no way to generalize this. I have seen parents support their completely deadbeat pregnant teenagers (the sort that had reckless sex with so many partners they don't know who the father is, smoked and drank while pregnant, and are failing out of school) and I've seen the straight-A model citizens that made a mistake and got pregnant have their accomplished parents abandon them. The children that are successful in school usually have more successful parents and stronger family ties so it would seem that these families are better able to stick together in times of crisis (and I'd consider a teen pregnancy a crisis, not a miracle). An A+ in the 8th grade means absolutely NOTHING in the real, adult world, just so you know. If my teenage daughter was pregnant, the last thing I'd look at would be her report card. She'd be getting a swift lesson in real life values and common sense.

Answer 4

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RE :Parent of pregnant teen, who is financially responsible for her medical bills?
My daughter is just barely 17 & 5 months pregnant. She does not want to live me. She & the father of the baby have the option of staying with my ex-husbands niece. She currently recieves Medi-Cal ( state funded free health care) which will cover herself and the baby-if she lives with me. She can qualify on her own if she moves out. My question is who is responsible for her medical bills then as she will no longer be included in my household? I have recieved confusing answers from the "state"--one says that I will be billed for any assistance that she recieves. If I am financially responsible then why aren't the baby daddy parents, and her own father responsible as well? I will have private insurance in March but I suspect that I cannot include her if she does not live with me. I can't lie about it because auntie lives in another County.Seeing a doctor in that county will send up red flags. There are of course other issues, but I need to know about the legal implications.~Thank you.
Update: Thank you for the responses! Really helped to give me some clarity. Am pretty sure that I will be holding the bag & she'll be holding the baby. Who knows, I may end up with the baby too. Forgot to mention father is a minor as well ( he wll be 18 when baby is born.)To his credit, he is sticking by her--for the time. If they get married with both parents consent am I off the hook?
1 following 13 answers

Answer 5

Medicaid will cover her pregnancy related costs and then she would have to reapply after the baby is born if she wishes to have continued coverage. As long as she is a minor I believe she can still be on your health insurance. I was on my parents insurance even though I was not living in their house. I was pregnant and had moved out but it was cheaper for them to keep me on their policy and then I just pay them my portion of the premiums. However after 18, if you are not in college then you can no longer be on your parents insurance. If you are attending college full-time then you can remain on the their insurance until your graduate or turn 25, I believe. This is the way my parents insurance company handles things. I'm not sure if any of it is standard across the board so perhaps you should contact your personal insurance company and simply ask them what their policies are pertaining to minors not living with you. The baby would not be covered I'm sure and she would either need to reapply for the medicaid or find a private policy for the child. I wish your daughter the best of luck.

Answer 6

You will not be responsible, Ive been in that situation and you are not responsible. The father of the child is responsible for repaying the state back. LOL thats how it works. She will get medicaid for herself and the baby and once the baby is born, if there is a child support order on the father, they will take part of it and repay the state, if there is no child support order, they will do a tax intercept each year until the state is repaid. Which will likely never happen. LOL. Trust me you are in no way shape or form responsible for your daughters medical bills. They will make the father pay! GOODLUCK!!!!!!!

Answer 7

unless u go to court and either emancipate her (which in alota states is hard, i only know ohio laws on that). Or u sign over gardianship to whoever shes living with, u are responsible. U are correct u can not put her on ur insurance if she doesnt live with u and also some insurance wont pay for a pre- existing pregnancy. But if she is on mediciad , then they pay 100 percent, thats the best route to go and all teen qualify for it and they will even take medical bills up to 3 months prior to filling out the medicaid application. I know this isnt what u wanna hear but the bills will be on you, i would imagine that u could take his parents to court for half the bills pending a dna test.
Also the first answer is wrong, she isnt not legally emancipated if she gets pregnant (atleast not in ohio, plus that sounds silly). But she can marry her b.f if he is 18 or over without consent and then will be emancipated, but she only can marry without concent if shes pregnant adn the b.f is the babys father. Its all a complicated issue and i honestly would be keeping my child with me no matter what if i was in this situation. good luck

Answer 8

I will tell you that i was pregnant at 17 and did not live with my mother but was still on her private insurance and at a certain age they said that for me to be covered i had to be a student so we lied to them and i stayed covered and when i got married i went on my husbands insurance so i dont think the county will matter just check it out and if it says no and she stays on state medical then have it noted maybe thru an attorney that you are not finacially resposible for her and she is on her own and if she qualifys thru state then its all on her

Answer 9

Whether or not she is living with you medicaid should cover any and all doctor related things for her and the baby. You more than likely would not be able to put her on any new insurance you get (for the pregnancy bills anyway) and the definately would not cover your daughter's child after it is born. Most insurance companies will not cover your child's pregnancy and none of them (that I know of) will cover her children.

Answer 10

Once she declares herself self-sufficient and out of your home, you are not responsible for her bills, medical or otherwise. If the baby's father acknowledges the child as his, he is just as responsible as she is. If he does not, she can still try to get support for him (many state/county health departements do this free for the mother if they are on welfare) and he *could* be held responsible until a paternity test is done. Wash your hands of it... there's nothing they can come after you for.