i was involved in a sexual relationship with a friend who recently moved out of state to FL. the week before her move (one month ago), she discovered she is pregnant and has decided to keep the child. neither of us want to become partners romantically and she understands that i do not want to move to FL in order to be involved in the child's life on a day-to-day basis; this is partially due to the fact that i have been planning on moving overseas and will be out of country for a few years.

at this time, she does NOT want to collect child support from me when the child is born. she plans on NOT putting my name on the birth certificate and saying she doesn't know who the father is and that she does not WANT to know who the father is. she says she wants to "do this herself", which i'm comfortable with and understand (also, my probable line of work overseas generates very low income as it's with a human relief organization).

our question relates to whether medicaid falls in the same category as welfare, food stamps, etc -- will the state REQUIRE HER to determine paternity and collect child support in order to defray the cost of her participation in medicaid?

this goes for the child as well -- if the child is on medicaid once born, will she be forced to determine paternity and initiate child support?

she is NOT expecting to have to receive any other form of government assistance. it is POSSIBLE that she will have her own private health insurance for the child by the time it is born (either through an employer or purchased privately by her family).

thanks in advance with your replies...

ampro

i was involved in a sexual relationship with a friend who recently moved out of state to FL. the week before her move (one month ago), she discovered she is pregnant and has decided to keep the child. neither of us want to become partners romantically and she understands that i do not want to move to FL in order to be involved in the child's life on a day-to-day basis; this is partially due to the fact that i have been planning on moving overseas and will be out of country for a few years.

at this time, she does NOT want to collect child support from me when the child is born. she plans on NOT putting my name on the birth certificate and saying she doesn't know who the father is and that she does not WANT to know who the father is. she says she wants to "do this herself", which i'm comfortable with and understand (also, my probable line of work overseas generates very low income as it's with a human relief organization).

our question relates to whether medicaid falls in the same category as welfare, food stamps, etc -- will the state REQUIRE HER to determine paternity and collect child support in order to defray the cost of her participation in medicaid?

this goes for the child as well -- if the child is on medicaid once born, will she be forced to determine paternity and initiate child support?

she is NOT expecting to have to receive any other form of government assistance. it is POSSIBLE that she will have her own private health insurance for the child by the time it is born (either through an employer or purchased privately by her family).

thanks in advance with your replies...

ampro

I have to point something out first:

Medicaid is TAXPAYER funded, therefore IF the mother does need public assistance, she will NOT be "doing this herself". From a strictly personal view, I do NOT care to support YOUR CHILD and his/her mother. Now that the personal view is out of the way, I'll give you the legal answers to your questions:

Yes, the state will require her to name a putitive father. If she refuses she will lose ALL state benefits. And yes, the state will file to establish paternity and CS and WILL be reimbursed for the state's expenses.

The ONLY way that she'll be able to keep from naming a father and going for CS is if she does do everything all on her own. This means NEVER- for the next 18 and a half years, never needing any type of public assistance.

You should be aware though that if any time during the next 18 yrs she does need assistance, the state will find you and get a CS order. That means that in 5, 10, 15, 18, or 19 years you could possibly be hit with a surprise of a child support order with a huge arrearage.

i was involved in a sexual relationship with a friend who recently moved out of state to FL. the week before her move (one month ago), she discovered she is pregnant and has decided to keep the child. neither of us want to become partners romantically and she understands that i do not want to move to FL in order to be involved in the child's life on a day-to-day basis; this is partially due to the fact that i have been planning on moving overseas and will be out of country for a few years.

at this time, she does NOT want to collect child support from me when the child is born. she plans on NOT putting my name on the birth certificate and saying she doesn't know who the father is and that she does not WANT to know who the father is. she says she wants to "do this herself", which i'm comfortable with and understand (also, my probable line of work overseas generates very low income as it's with a human relief organization).

our question relates to whether medicaid falls in the same category as welfare, food stamps, etc -- will the state REQUIRE HER to determine paternity and collect child support in order to defray the cost of her participation in medicaid?

this goes for the child as well -- if the child is on medicaid once born, will she be forced to determine paternity and initiate child support?

she is NOT expecting to have to receive any other form of government assistance. it is POSSIBLE that she will have her own private health insurance for the child by the time it is born (either through an employer or purchased privately by her family).

thanks in advance with your replies...

ampro

Tell her good luck with that b/c welfare will not allow her to sign up without naming so many people to be tested for paternity. It is known as a paternity chain when a mother does this. Not to mention how that will make her look.

thanks for your replies.

2 question:

if the mother remains on medicaid while pregnant, but has private insurance for the child once born, will the state petition me for ongoing child support (full 18 yrs), or is it possible it will only require that i reimburse it for the cost of the mother's medicaid during the pregnancy?

if the mother is able to arrange private medical insurance immediately and stops receiving medicaid for the remainder of her pregnancy, will the state require full child support or just reimbursement for the 3 weeks of medicaid benefits she has received thus far?

thanks again,

ampro

thanks for your replies.

2 question:

if the mother remains on medicaid while pregnant, but has private insurance for the child once born, will the state petition me for ongoing child support (full 18 yrs), or is it possible it will only require that i reimburse it for the cost of the mother's medicaid during the pregnancy?

if the mother is able to arrange private medical insurance immediately and stops receiving medicaid for the remainder of her pregnancy, will the state require full child support or just reimbursement for the 3 weeks of medicaid benefits she has received thus far?

thanks again,

ampro

Child support is ordered. The way it works in PA is the state gets all but $50. The only way that it will stop accumulating after mother gets private insurance is if she allows it to. She can terminate any time after she no longer needs medicaid. Are you aware of the costs of having a child as far as Dr's visits, Hospital expenses etc??? And also what if at some point during the pregnancy she is deemed high risk and is made to go on bed rest. Or if she has to have regular Non-stress tests. Ultra sounds. What if the baby is born with a congenital disorder??? Pre-eclampsia??? I can go on forever.
This is serious business. Why would you not want to know your child??? My God too many children grow up with only one parent. What if one day this child wants to know who its father is??? What if one day he/she needs a blood transfusion or an organ transplant etc????? You are not being very fair to the person who can't represent itself.....the baby!!!!!!!!

thanks!!!

ampro

thanks for your replies.

2 question:

if the mother remains on medicaid while pregnant, but has private insurance for the child once born, will the state petition me for ongoing child support (full 18 yrs), or is it possible it will only require that i reimburse it for the cost of the mother's medicaid during the pregnancy?

if the mother is able to arrange private medical insurance immediately and stops receiving medicaid for the remainder of her pregnancy, will the state require full child support or just reimbursement for the 3 weeks of medicaid benefits she has received thus far?

thanks again,

ampro

Once a court order for CS has been issued it will remain in effect for 18 yrs. Once the state is reimbursed, if the mother doesn't wish to recieve CS she'll need to just refund to you all the CS you pay. In Florida, once a CS order is issued a custodial parent cannot decide later to not recieve CS, because the state's laws are that a child's right to support cannot be waived by the parent.

You are going to go to work for a "human relief organization" yet you walk out on your own child??? Many parents are not together "romantically" yet they "commit" to being the best parents they can be under the situations they find themselves in. Every child deserves that. Be prepared to explain your actions because someday he/she will want to know.

To make this legal, in my State, $325 million are owed to children by non-paying fathers. Any idea what this does to law makers and ORS agents?? It makes life extremely difficult for those trying to be fathers. You want to be involved in "Human Relief"? help us all by making responsible decisions.

You are going to go to work for a "human relief organization" yet you walk out on your own child??? Many parents are not together "romantically" yet they "commit" to being the best parents they can be under the situations they find themselves in. Every child deserves that. Be prepared to explain your actions because someday he/she will want to know.

To make this legal, in my State, $325 million are owed to children by non-paying fathers. Any idea what this does to law makers and ORS agents?? It makes life extremely difficult for those trying to be fathers. You want to be involved in "Human Relief"? help us all by making responsible decisions.

I definately agree with your post, however, in all fairness to OP I'd like to point out that both OP and the mother have made a mutual decision for OP to not be a part of his child's life. So in this particular situation ALL of the blame cannot be placed on OP alone.

I agree completely. My last post was intended for OP and his friend.

Yes, the state will require her to name a putitive father. If she refuses she will lose ALL state benefits. And yes, the state will file to establish paternity and CS and WILL be reimbursed for the state's expenses.

The ONLY way that she'll be able to keep from naming a father and going for CS is if she does do everything all on her own. This means NEVER- for the next 18 and a half years, never needing any type of public assistance.

You should be aware though that if any time during the next 18 yrs she does need assistance, the state will find you and get a CS order. That means that in 5, 10, 15, 18, or 19 years you could possibly be hit with a surprise of a child support order with a huge arrearage.

I don't know if this is a federal law or if it varies from state to state, but in my case, I was fired from my job when I was around 12 weeks pregnant. I found work within weeks, but not with benefits, and I couldn't afford the COBRA payments. So I went on Medicaid through the remainder of the pregnancy, and my son was on Medicaid until he was one and I purchased private insurance. I also qualifed for WIC both during the pregnancy and during my son's first year.

Never, not one time, was I forced to name the father of my child. If a woman truly doesn't know who the father is (which was not my case and is not the OP's case, but it does happen), she isn't going to be denied help she needs or assistance for her child because she made one irresponsible decision. Every person I dealt with worried about two things: 1. The Child and 2. Making Sure I Didn't End Up In This Situation Again. I was told by one case worker that the state would want to collect from the father, but that if I didn't want to name him, they would simply drop the case. I realize that this was probably a result of a system filled with overworked and underpaid people, but the end result was that I got benefits without ever being required to name a putative father.

Please don't think that everyone on Medicaid is just sucking off the taxpayer's dollar. I AM a taxpayer. I just got into a sticky situation, and that's what the system is there for. I followed all the rules, I never missed an appointment with a caseworker, I was open and honest about how I got into this situation, I never abused the system, and I bought my own benefits as soon as I was able. I was told my son could likely stay on Medicaid until he was 5, but I didn't take advantage of it.

That said, I would want to ask the original poster: why does she need to be on Medicaid? She shouldn't go on it just because it's there: it's designed for those who need the assistance, not those who just don't feel like paying.

Also, the reason I didn't name the father wasn't because I was trying to hide it or protect him from paying in any way, shape or form.

NO ONE ASKED.

Like I said, they appeared to only be concerned about the child, not collecting. The one time a caseworker did bring it up (and it was kind of in passing) was after my son was several months old. Perhaps I was naive, but I never thought about it. I was pregnant, got fired, and I was scared. I did what I thought was best for my baby.

Five years later and there has still been no attempt by the state to contact me to name him, although at this point paternity HAS een established and entered into the court, so if the state IS going after him now, I am unaware of it.

That's very odd. I live in PA and I went on through a welfare program to help me pay for my books and other supplies when I went back to school after I had my daughter in 1994 and I had to name the father and about a month later I got a certified letter in the mail saying I had to Appear before demestics. I had to name the father of my daughter or I would not have been eligible for the benifits. Maybe it does vary from state to state. But I do know a lot of people that tried the I don't know who my babies father is and they had to keep naming until they got it right.

I went looking through my files (I have kept EVERYTHING... good thing now that bio-dad has filed for visitation) and found a letter from the state saying that since I had not listed the father with them, they would no longer assist me in pursuing child support. Thing is, I NEVER pursued child support.

Like I said, it may very well have been that that caseworker had too many cases, and mine didn't seem worth pursuing. But they never asked. When I first went to apply for Medicaid, I was very upset and crying (I am a college grad who had been gainfully employed and on my own for several years... having to ask for public aid because I got knocked up was the hardest thing I ever had to do, at least up until that point). The woman who helped me just walked me through the process and the paperwork, but never was there a mention of the father.

I'm beginning to think that my son's bio-dad dodged a huge bullet.

I DO remember the person from hospital records who filled out the birth certificate telling me I should have a paternity test, something about making sure bio-dad gets on the birth certificate so my son would be eligible for his social security benefits should the devil call him home.

AND the nurse from WIC, while doing a home visit, explained to me that if I had a paternity test done, he would have to pay for it, not me. But those were the only other times the father was mentioned, and it had nothing to do with Medicaid.

Again, sounds like the SOB got away with one more thing...

LOL. Yep looks that way. I know what you mean about it being the hardest thing you ever did though. I refused to go to that office. My mother put me in the car and told me "You've worked since you were 13 years old (my parents had a business I worked at) and never stopped since. Your father and I have worked and or ran a business since we were 18. Do not feel guilty for asking for some of your tax dollars back. Its just a loan until you get on your feet again." And she was right. For 14 months I recieved help from the government. And have never needed their help again. But when you realize you do it sure is tough to admit it. :rolleyes:

Please don't think that everyone on Medicaid is just sucking off the taxpayer's dollar. I AM a taxpayer. I just got into a sticky situation, and that's what the system is there for. I followed all the rules, I never missed an appointment with a caseworker, I was open and honest about how I got into this situation, I never abused the system, and I bought my own benefits as soon as I was able. I was told my son could likely stay on Medicaid until he was 5, but I didn't take advantage of it.

I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I think all medicaid recieptients are sucking off the taxpayers' dollars. I certainly don't believe that, I agree with you, those programs are supposed to help people over some unavoidable rough times.

I know because I've been there twice myself. Many years ago when my children were small I was married to thier father, but we just didn't have enough income to cover medical expenses, so my kids were covered under medicaid for about a year, until my hubby got a better job. You are right, it was the most horrible experience, my husband and I were treated like we had leprosy or were criminals, I was soo glad when we were able to afford regular ins. The second time was when I became disabled, I had to have medicaid for the 2 year waiting period before medicare began. I hated that also, it's so unfair that a person can be found to be disabled by SSA, start recieving their SSDI but still have to wait 2 years before medicare starts, even though it was paid for thru payroll taxes.

The point I was making to OP was that it's wrong for taxpayers to foot the bill when there is another way but both parents refuse to take that way. I agree with your assessment of your situation, your ex managed to dodge a huge bullet because of an overworked caseworker.

I was so irritated by this I finally looked it up. An Illinois website said this:

"Persons on public assistance must participate in the establishment of paternity. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services' Division of Child Support Enforcement uses an administrative process when the alleged father and mother consent to establishing paternity or when the alleged father contests being named the father. (my case) The alleged father has the right to a hearing by an administrative law judge or a court hearing if he requests."

Sure enough, that jerk got away with one more thing. I wonder why my caseworker never pursued the case? I am hoping to have his rights terminated anyway, but even if they are, is he still responsible for my and my son's time on Medicaid.

At this point I should probably have started a new thread.... sorry.