Enrollment of child in plan of health insurance; notice to enroll; deduction of premiums from wages of parent; withholding of state tax refunds; liability for refusing to enroll child or misrepresenting information; immunity from liability for complying with notice; remedy not exclusive.
1. If a court orders a parent to obtain health insurance for his child and the parent fails to enroll the child and provide written proof to the enforcing authority, the enforcing authority shall mail to the parent’s employer or labor organization by first-class mail, a notice requiring the employer or organization to enroll the child in the plan of health insurance provided for his employees or its members. The Welfare Division shall, by regulation, prescribe the content of the notice and establish procedures for providing the notice to ensure compliance with federal law.
2. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, upon receipt of a notice to enroll, mailed pursuant to subsection 1, the employer or labor organization shall enroll the child named in the notice in the plan of health insurance provided for his employees or its members. The child must be enrolled without regard to any restrictions upon periods for enrollment. If more than one plan is offered by the employer or labor organization, and each plan may be extended to cover the child, the child must be enrolled in the parent’s plan. If the parent’s plan cannot be extended to cover the child, the child must be enrolled in a plan that provides coverage for a dependent that is otherwise available to the parent, subject to the eligibility requirements of that plan. An employer, labor organization, health maintenance organization or other insurer is not required to enroll the child in a plan of health insurance if the child is not otherwise eligible to be enrolled in that plan. If the child is not eligible to be enrolled in the parent’s plan of health insurance, the employer or labor organization shall notify the enforcing authority.
3. The employer or labor organization shall transfer the notice to enroll to the administrator that provides coverage pursuant to the plan of health insurance for which the child is eligible within 20 business days after the date of the notice to enroll. The administrator shall fully complete and return the response form to the enforcing authority within 40 business days after the date of the notice.
4. After the child is enrolled in a plan of health insurance, the premiums required to be paid by the parent for the child’s coverage must be deducted from the parent’s wages. If the parent’s wages are not sufficient to pay for those premiums, the employer or labor organization shall notify the enforcing authority. A parent may contest the withholding pursuant to NRS 31A.050.
5. A notice to enroll sent pursuant to subsection 1 has the same effect as an enrollment application signed by the parent. No employer or labor organization may refuse to enroll a child because a parent has not signed an enrollment application.
6. An employer or labor organization shall, without liability to the parent, provide to the enforcing authority, upon request, information about the name of the insurer and the number of the parent’s policy of health insurance.
7. The enforcing authority may withhold wages or other income and require withholding of state tax refunds whenever the responsible parent has received payment from the third party and not used the payment to reimburse the other parent or provider to the extent necessary to reimburse the Medicaid agency.
8. The enforcing authority shall promptly notify the employer or labor organization when there is no longer a current order for medical support in effect for which the enforcing authority is responsible.
9. The employer shall notify the enforcing authority when the parent subject to the notice to enroll terminates his employment, and provide the last known address of the parent and the name of any new employer of the parent, if known.
10. If an employer or labor organization wrongfully refuses to enroll a child in a plan of health insurance as required in this section, or knowingly misrepresents that health insurance is not available, the employer or labor organization may be held liable for punitive damages and all unreimbursed medical expenses incurred during the period in which insurance was not in effect.
11. An employer, labor organization or enforcing authority who complies with a notice to enroll that is regular on its face may not be held liable in any civil action for any conduct taken in compliance with the notice.
12. The remedy provided by this section is in addition to, and is not a substitute for, any other remedy available for the enforcement of such an order.
Last modified: February 27, 2006