Court orders

Child support guidelines

Medical Support

In addition to child support, court orders must address medical support if a parent’s income is more than 150% of the federal poverty level. Low-income payers have incomes lower than 150% of the poverty level .

Either parent or both parents may be ordered to add the children to the health insurance provided by the parent’s employer

• if the parent's cost to add the children to an existing policy (or the difference between the self-only and family plan) is not more than 5% of the parent’s monthly income
• or another amount set by the court.

The cost of medical support is based on each parent’s ability to pay. If a parent’s costs are greater than the standard 5%, or if the health care provider is more than 30 miles or 30 minutes away from where the child lives, or if the insurance does not cover some medical costs, the court may order a parent to provide medical support for the child in another way. For example, the court may order a parent:

• To pay a monthly amount for medical costs not covered by insurance
• To pay a part of the insurance or BadgerCare Plus costs that the other parent carries for the children

To cover these insurance costs, the court may adjust the amount of child support ordered. The support order may be more or may be less - see examples below. (The insurance payments will not be sent to the insurance company or the BadgerCare Plus program.)

Example 1:

• Under the Percentage Standard, Parent A would pay $500/month in child support
• Parent A is also ordered to pay the children’s health insurance
• However, Parent B carries the insurance that costs $100/month
• The court may add the $100 insurance costs to the support paid by Parent A: $500 + $100 = $600/month

Example 2:

• Under the Percentage Standard, Parent A would pay $500/month in child support
• Parent B is ordered to pay the children’s health insurance
• However, Parent A carries the insurance that costs $100/month
• The court may reduce the support amount to cover the $100 insurance costs paid by Parent A: $500 - $100 = $400/month

Example 3:

• Under the Percentage Standard, Parent A would pay $500/month in child support
• Both parents are ordered to pay an equal amount for the children’s health insurance
• Parent A carries the insurance that costs $100/month
• The court may reduce the support amount to cover the Parent B’s share of the insurance costs paid by Parent A: $500 - $50 = $450/month

For more information, see Medical Support Orders

Birth costs

If the parents are not married when the mother applies for BadgerCare Plus and the mother is referred to child support, the court may order the father to repay birth costs. Birth costs include health care costs related to the pregnancy, as well as the birth of the child. The repayable amount is based on the father’s income and his ability to pay.

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