We have a patient (child) whose parents are divorced. As part of the divorce agreement the father is required to provide insurance for the child, which he does (United Healthcare). The patient's mother also has secondary insurance for the child (Medicaid).The issue is that the patient's mother has not notified the patient's father that there is a secondary insurance in place. Is this legal? should the father not have the right to use the secondary insurance also for his child?
we don't know (nor do we care) which parent or friend brought the child in. We simply bill all insurances we have on file.
Since this insurance is for the child, and both parents are the child's legal guardians, there is no legal reason for you to hide the secondary insurance policy from the father. That is not the mother's private health information exclusively, it is also the child's, and the father has legal access to that private health information because it's his child as well. Since benefit coordination is necessary when there are two insurances, the father needs to know in case he has to contact the primary insurer regarding said coordination (and he probably does, don't be surprised if you start getting denied claims because the insurers are confused).