Extraordinary Health Care Expenses

[nads1103]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington

My ex-wife has not paid for her half of our daughter orthodontics bills in almost a year. We had an agreement that we would split the cost. Now she is saying the orthodontics are not mentioned in our parenting plan. Extra ordinary helth care expenses are though. They are defined as medical bills that exceed insurace coverages. Neither of us have orthodontics coverage. She paid me monthly for about 7 months. Than I got remarried and she stopped paying her half, always giving me a different excuse. I really don't want to take her back to court, but I will if necessary. I am just hoping to get legal advice to help me define what exactly an Extraordinary Health Care Expense is.

 

[Isis1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington

My ex-wife has not paid for her half of our daughter orthodontics bills in almost a year. We had an agreement that we would split the cost. Now she is saying the orthodontics are not mentioned in our parenting plan. Extra ordinary helth care expenses are though. They are defined as medical bills that exceed insurace coverages. Neither of us have orthodontics coverage. She paid me monthly for about 7 months. Than I got remarried and she stopped paying her half, always giving me a different excuse. I really don't want to take her back to court, but I will if necessary. I am just hoping to get legal advice to help me define what exactly an Extraordinary Health Care Expense is.

how old is the child? are the braces for a physical disability that would harm the child's health during childhood? or is this a pure cosmetic issue that can wait till the child is an adult?

 

[ecmst12]

Taking care of orthodontic issues in childhood is a medical necessity. It never makes sense to "wait for adulthood", which only makes the problem harder or even impossible to fix.

 

[CJane]

Taking care of orthodontic issues in childhood is a medical necessity. It never makes sense to "wait for adulthood", which only makes the problem harder or even impossible to fix.

Really? Even if kiddos teeth are just slightly out of line and pose no health risk, but are simply less than perfect? That's a medical necessity?

 

[mistoffolees]

Taking care of orthodontic issues in childhood is a medical necessity. It never makes sense to "wait for adulthood", which only makes the problem harder or even impossible to fix.

Not at all true. Furthermore, we don't know how old the child is. Braces are often done in the teen years for cosmetic reasons.

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington

My ex-wife has not paid for her half of our daughter orthodontics bills in almost a year. We had an agreement that we would split the cost. Now she is saying the orthodontics are not mentioned in our parenting plan. Extra ordinary helth care expenses are though. They are defined as medical bills that exceed insurace coverages. Neither of us have orthodontics coverage. She paid me monthly for about 7 months. Than I got remarried and she stopped paying her half, always giving me a different excuse. I really don't want to take her back to court, but I will if necessary. I am just hoping to get legal advice to help me define what exactly an Extraordinary Health Care Expense is.

Start by telling us what your court order says about medical or dental. Word for word, but without the names. Then, tell us if the orthodontist has stated that the braces were medically necessary or cosmetic.

In general, an outside agreement is not enforceable in family court. Any agreements you reach must be added to your decree and signed by a judge. However, if you have a separate written agreement, it may be enforceable as a contract in small claims court.

 

[ecmst12]

Teeth drift forward over time and it's very difficult to get them to move BACK in the mouth. The earlier the misalignment can be corrected, the better for many reasons, including ease of moving teeth (harder the older the patient gets and the more solid the bone structure becomes) and because addressing it early will keep it from becoming severe. I went back to the orthodontist as an adult and he showed me the pictures of my lower teeth as they were when I finished the treatment of my upper teeth (age 15 I think)...if we'd addressed it then, it probably could have been corrected without pulling any teeth. Since it wasn't, I had to get one pulled.

 

[mistoffolees]

Teeth drift forward over time and it's very difficult to get them to move BACK in the mouth. The earlier the misalignment can be corrected, the better for many reasons, including ease of moving teeth (harder the older the patient gets and the more solid the bone structure becomes) and because addressing it early will keep it from becoming severe. I went back to the orthodontist as an adult and he showed me the pictures of my lower teeth as they were when I finished the treatment of my upper teeth (age 15 I think)...if we'd addressed it then, it probably could have been corrected without pulling any teeth. Since it wasn't, I had to get one pulled.

That may be true in your case. It's not true in every case. It is absolutely, totally, 100%, completely false to say that orthodontics done during childhood are always medically necessary.

For example, my teeth were crooked during childhood. The dentist suggested braces, but there's no way my parents could have afforded it, so my teeth remained crooked my entire life. They're still crooked. No medical issues, no loss of teeth, no damage in any way - I just have crooked teeth. Not all braces are medically necessary. (and, even today when I can afford it, I have no desire to get braces. I just don't care that much about having crooked teeth).

Furthermore, there are cases where waiting is prudent. In my daughter's case, her braces were done fairly early. The orthodontist says that because we did them before her mouth was fully formed that she might need braces again when she's older. Now, in her case, it was medically necessary for other reasons. But if we had done braces at her age for purely cosmetic reasons, there's a good chance that it would have been a total waste and needed to be repeated later.

 

[ecmst12]

My point was that even if cosmetics are also a concern, there are always reasons that the ortho will document for why they are medically beneficial/necessary. The patient may be able to get along with crooked teeth but that doesn't mean they won't benefit from getting it fixed, beyond just cosmetics.

It's like any other minor medical problem. Someone with slightly high blood pressure or cholesterol might be able to get along without treatment, but that doesn't mean they won't be better off WITH treatment.

 

[mistoffolees]

My point was that even if cosmetics are also a concern, there are always reasons that the ortho will document for why they are medically beneficial/necessary. The patient may be able to get along with crooked teeth but that doesn't mean they won't benefit from getting it fixed, beyond just cosmetics.

It's like any other minor medical problem. Someone with slightly high blood pressure or cholesterol might be able to get along without treatment, but that doesn't mean they won't be better off WITH treatment.

Always? Really? You're making this up as you go along.

Bottom line is that OP has still not provided us with the wording of their court order. Then, OP has to tell us whether the orthodontist says that they were medically necessary. Your opinion and my opinion don't count.