New Mexico Statutes
Article 4C - Mandatory Medical Support
Section 40-4C-6 - Obligations; employers, unions and carriers; plan.

A. Upon receipt of a national medical support notice or the court order for health care coverage pursuant to Section 40-4C-5 NMSA 1978 or upon application of the medical support obligor pursuant to the court order, the employer or union shall enroll the minor child as an eligible dependent in the health care coverage plan and withhold any required premium from the medical support obligor's income or wages. If more than one health care coverage plan and dental care coverage plan is offered by the employer, union or carrier, the minor child shall be enrolled in the plan in which the medical support obligor is enrolled. If the medical support obligor is not enrolled in a plan, the child shall be enrolled in a plan that meets the minimum coverage criteria required pursuant to the Mandatory Medical Support Act. If the medical support obligor is not enrolled in a plan, the premiums charged for the child or children of the medical support obligor shall be those charged for the enrollment of the medical support obligor only.
B. In any instance in which the medical support obligor is required by a court order to provide health care coverage for each minor child and the medical support obligor is eligible for health care coverage through an employment-related or other group health care coverage plan, the employer, union or carrier shall do the following:
(1) permit the medical support obligor to enroll for health care coverage each minor child who is otherwise eligible for coverage without regard to any enrollment season restrictions;
(2) enroll each minor child for health care coverage if the medical support obligor fails to enroll each minor child upon application by the medical support obligee or the department;
(3) not disenroll or eliminate coverage of any minor child so enrolled unless:
(a) the employer is provided with satisfactory written evidence that the court order is no longer in effect;
(b) the minor child is or will be enrolled in comparable health care coverage that meets the health care coverage criteria required pursuant to the Mandatory Medical Support Act and that will take effect not later than the effective date of the disenrollment;
(c) the medical support obligor has terminated employment; or
(d) the employer has eliminated health care coverage for all of its employees; and
(4) withhold from the medical support obligor's compensation the medical support obligor's share, if any, of premiums for health care coverage and to pay the share of premiums to the carrier, unless otherwise provided in law or regulation.
C. In those instances in which the medical support obligor fails or refuses to execute any document necessary to enroll a minor child in a health care coverage plan ordered by the court, the required information and authorization may be provided by the department or the custodial parent or guardian of the minor child.
D. Information and authorization provided by the department or the custodial parent or guardian of a minor child shall be valid for the purpose of meeting enrollment requirements of the health care coverage plan and shall not affect the obligation of the employer or union and the carrier to enroll the minor child in the health care coverage plan for which other eligibility, enrollment, underwriting terms and other requirements are met. In instances in which a minor child is covered through the medical support obligor, the carrier shall provide all information to the medical support obligee that may be helpful or necessary for the minor child to obtain benefits.
E. A minor child that a medical support obligor is required to cover as an eligible dependent pursuant to the Mandatory Medical Support Act shall be considered for health care coverage purposes as a dependent of the medical support obligor until the child is emancipated or until further order of the court.
F. In instances in which a minor child is provided health care coverage through a medical support obligor, unless prohibited by federal law, the carrier is prohibited from denying health care coverage of the minor child on the grounds that: (1) the minor child was born out of wedlock; (2) the minor child is not claimed as a dependent on the medical support obligor's federal income tax return; or (3) the minor child does not reside with the medical support obligor or reside in the carrier's service area.
G. In instances in which a minor child is provided health care coverage through a medical support obligor, the carrier is prohibited from imposing requirements on the department that are different from requirements applicable to an agent or assignee of any other individual covered by the health care coverage plan.
H. In instances in which a minor child is provided health care coverage through a medical support obligor who is a noncustodial parent, the carrier shall permit the custodial parent or health care provider, with the approval of the custodial parent, to submit claims for covered services without the approval of the medical support obligor. The carrier shall make payments on submitted claims directly to the custodial parent or the health care provider.
I. If the medical support obligor is terminated, the employer shall notify the department of the termination.
History: Laws 1990, ch. 78, § 6; 1994, ch. 76, § 5; 2003, ch. 287, § 5; 2007, ch. 165, § 6; 2021, ch. 20, § 9.
The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, provided an exception to the prohibition of a carrier from denying health care coverage to a minor child for certain reasons; changed former references of "health insurance" to "health care coverage", of "dental insurance" to "dental care coverage", of "insured" to "provided health care coverage" and "insurer" to "carrier" throughout; and in Subsection F, after "through a medical support obligor,", added "unless prohibited by federal law", and added paragraph designations "(1)", "(2)" and "(3)".
The 2007 amendment, effective June 15, 2007, eliminated references to dental insurance coverage and changed "obligor" and "obligee" to "medical support obligor" and "medical support obligee".
The 2003 amendment, effective April 8, 2003, in Subsection A, inserted "a national medical support notice or" near the beginning, substituted "the court" for "that" following "obligor pursuant to", substituted "union or insurer" for "or union" following "by the employer", substituted "If the obligor is not enrolled in a plan, the child shall be enrolled in a plan" for "or the least costly plan available to the obligor" following "obligor is enrolled", added the last sentence; substituted "employment-related or other group health care insurance plan" for "employer or union" following "coverage through an" in the first paragraph of Subsection B; deleted "that" at the beginning of Subparagraph B(3)(b); inserted "plan" following "the health insurance" in Subsection D; and inserted "health care" twice in Subsection H; and added Subsection I.
The 1994 amendment, effective March 4, 1994, substituted "Section 40-4C-5 NMSA 1978" for "Section 5 of the Mandatory Medical Support Act" in Subsection A, added Subsection B, redesignated former Subsections B to D as Subsections C to E, inserted the sentence beginning "In instances" in Subsection D, and added Subsections F to H.