767.513.Child health care expenses.

Subch. VI: Support and Maintenance · Last amended 2019 · Current through 2025 Wisconsin Act 247 · Last verified September 8, 2026

In one sentenceSection 767.513 makes the court assign responsibility for a child's health care expenses in every support case, and obliges the employer of a parent ordered to cover the child to let them do it.

Full Text of Section 767.513

Text sizeJump to: (1) (2) (2m) (3) (4) (5) (6)

(1) DEFINITION. In this section, “health insurance” does not include medical assistance provided under subch. IV of ch. 49.

(2) RESPONSIBILITY AND PAYMENT. In addition to ordering child support for a child under s. 767.511 (1), the court shall specifically assign responsibility for and direct the manner of payment of the child’s health care expenses. In assigning responsibility for a child’s health care expenses, the court shall consider whether a child is covered under a parent’s health insurance policy or plan at the time the court approves a stipulation for child support under s. 767.34, enters a judgment of annulment, divorce, or legal separation, or enters an order or a judgment in a paternity action or in an action under s. 767.001 (1) (f) or (j), 767.501, 767.804 (2), or 767.805 (3), the availability of health insurance to each parent through an employer or other organization, the extent of coverage available to a child, and the costs to the parent for the coverage of the child. A parent may be required to initiate or continue health care insurance coverage for a child under this section. If a parent is required to do so, he or she shall provide copies of necessary program or policy identification to the custodial parent and is liable for any health care costs for which he or she receives direct payment from an insurer. This section shall not be construed to limit the authority of the court to enter or modify support orders containing provisions for payment of medical expenses, medical costs, or insurance premiums that are in addition to and not inconsistent with this section.

(2m) HEALTH INSURANCE IDENTIFICATION CARD. (a) The court shall order a parent who is required to provide health insurance coverage for a child under this section to provide to the other parent a health insurance identification card evidencing the child’s health insurance coverage.

(b) If the parent ordered to provide a health insurance identification card for the child fails to do so, the other parent may attempt to obtain a card for the child by presenting to the health insurance provider or to the employer through which the insurance is provided a copy of the order requiring the provision of a card.

(c) If the other parent is unable to obtain a health insurance identification card for the child in the manner provided in par. (b), the intentional failure to comply with the order to provide the card by the parent so ordered constitutes a contempt of court, punishable under ch. 785.

(3) INCOME WITHHOLDING AND ASSIGNMENT. (a) In directing the manner of payment of a child’s health care expenses, the court may order that payment, including payment for health insurance premiums, be withheld from income and sent to the appropriate health care insurer, provider, or plan, as provided in s. 767.75 (3h), or sent to the department or its designee for disbursement to the person for whom the payment has been awarded if that person is not a health care insurer, provider, or plan. If the court orders income withholding and assignment for the payment of health care expenses, the court or county child support agency under s. 59.53 (5) shall send notice of assignment in the manner provided under s. 767.75 (2r) and may include the notice of assignment under this paragraph with a notice of assignment under s. 767.75. The department or its designee shall keep a record of all moneys received and disbursed for health care expenses that are directed to be paid to the department or its designee.

(b) If the court orders a parent to initiate or continue health insurance coverage for a child under a health insurance policy that is available to the parent through an employer or other organization but the court does not specify the manner in which payment of the health insurance premiums shall be made, the court or county child support agency under s. 59.53 (5) may provide notice of assignment in the manner provided under s. 767.75 (2r) for the withholding from income of the amount necessary to pay the health insurance premiums. The notice of assignment under this paragraph may be sent with or included as part of any other notice of assignment under s. 767.75. A person who receives notice of assignment under this paragraph shall send the withheld health insurance premiums to the appropriate health care insurer, provider, or plan, as provided in s. 767.75 (3h).

(4) HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN; EMPLOYER OBLIGATION. If the court orders a parent to provide coverage of the health care expenses of the parent’s child and the parent is eligible for family coverage of health care expenses under a health benefit plan that is provided by an employer on an insured or on a self-insured basis, the employer shall do all of the following:

(a) Permit the parent to obtain family coverage of health care expenses for the child, if eligible for coverage, without regard to any enrollment period or waiting period restrictions that may apply.

(b) Provide family coverage of health care expenses for the child, if eligible for coverage, upon application by the parent, the child’s other parent, the department, or the county child support agency under s. 59.53 (5), or upon receiving a notice under sub. (6) (a).

(bm) Notify the county child support agency under s. 59.53 (5) when coverage of the child under the health benefit plan is in effect and, upon request, provide copies of necessary program or policy identification to the child’s other parent.

(c) After the child has coverage under the employer’s health benefit plan, and as long as the parent is eligible for family coverage under the employer’s health benefit plan, continue to provide coverage for the child unless the employer receives satisfactory written evidence that the court order is no longer in effect or that the child has coverage of health care expenses under another health insurance policy or health benefit plan that provides comparable coverage of health care expenses.

(5) RECOVERY BY STATE OF 3RD PARTY PAYMENTS. (a) If a parent who has been ordered by a court to provide coverage of the health care expenses of a child who is eligible for medical assistance under subch. IV of ch. 49 receives payment from a 3rd party for the cost of services provided to the child but does not pay the health care provider for the services or reimburse the department or any other person who paid for the services on behalf of the child, the department may obtain a judgment against the parent for the amount of the 3rd-party payment.

(b) Section 767.75 (4) applies to a garnishment based on a judgment obtained under par. (a).

(6) CHANGE OF EMPLOYMENT; NOTICE. (a) If a parent who provides coverage of the health care expenses of a child under an order under this section changes employers and that parent has a court-ordered child support obligation with respect to the child, the county child support agency under s. 59.53 (5) shall provide notice of the order to provide coverage of the child’s health care expenses to the new employer and to the parent.

(b) The notice provided to the parent shall inform the parent that coverage for the child under the new employer’s health benefit plan will be in effect upon the employer’s receipt of the notice. The notice shall inform the parent that he or she may, within 10 business days after receiving the notice, by motion request a hearing before the court on the issue of whether the order to provide coverage of the child’s health care expenses should remain in effect. A motion under this paragraph may be heard by a circuit court commissioner. If the parent requests a hearing and the court determines that the order to provide coverage of the child’s health care expenses should not remain in effect, the court shall provide notice to the employer that the order is no longer in effect.

End

Official Notes

Wisconsin prints certain labelled notes with the statute — effective-date notes, cross-references, and notes of the Judicial Council. They are reproduced verbatim below. The unlabelled digest of court decisions that the Legislative Reference Bureau prints after them is annotation rather than statute, and is not reproduced.

NOTE: 2005 Wis. Act 443 contains explanatory notes. Orders assigning health care responsibility pursuant to s. 767.25 (4m) [now this section] are subject to revision under s. 767.32 [now s. 767.59]. Kuchenbecker v. Schultz, 151 Wis. 2d 868, 447 N.W.2d 80 (Ct. App. 1989).

Amendment History

Wisconsin prints each section’s legislative history as a single “History” line naming every act that created or amended it, and every renumbering. It is reproduced verbatim below.

History: 2005 a. 443 ss. 104, 220; 2007 a. 96; 2019 a. 95.

Plain-English Summary

Health cover is not an afterthought to support; the court must specifically assign responsibility for it and direct how it is to be paid.

What the court weighs. Whether the child is already covered under a parent's policy, whether insurance is available to each parent through an employer or other organisation, how far that cover extends to the child, and what it costs the parent. A parent may be required to start or keep up cover, must hand the other parent the programme or policy identification, and is liable for health care costs for which an insurer pays them directly.

The card. A parent ordered to provide cover must give the other parent a health insurance identification card. If they do not, the other parent may take a copy of the order to the insurer or the employer and try to obtain one. If that fails too, the intentional failure to comply is contempt of court.

Paying for it. The court may order premiums withheld from income and sent to the insurer, provider or plan, or to the department for disbursement. Where the court orders cover but says nothing about how the premiums are to be paid, the court or the county child support agency may still issue a notice of assignment for the amount needed.

The employer's duties. An employer whose health benefit plan covers families must let the parent enrol the child without regard to enrolment or waiting-period restrictions, provide the cover on application by either parent, the department or the child support agency, notify the child support agency once cover is in effect, and keep the child covered until it has written evidence that the order has ended or that comparable cover exists elsewhere.

Two tail provisions. Where a parent ordered to cover a medical-assistance-eligible child pockets a third-party payment instead of paying the provider, the department may obtain a judgment for that amount. And when such a parent changes employers, the child support agency notifies the new employer and the parent, who then has 10 business days to move for a hearing on whether the order should remain in effect.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who pays for a child's health insurance after a Wisconsin divorce?

Whoever the court says. In addition to ordering child support, the court must specifically assign responsibility for the child's health care expenses and direct the manner of payment.

What if I am not given the insurance card?

You may take a copy of the order to the insurer or to the employer through which the insurance is provided and try to obtain a card. If that does not work, the other parent's intentional failure to comply is contempt of court.

Can my employer refuse to enrol my child because open enrolment has closed?

No. The employer must permit the parent to obtain family coverage for the child, if eligible, without regard to any enrolment period or waiting period restrictions.

What happens when the insuring parent changes jobs?

The county child support agency notifies the new employer and the parent. Cover takes effect on the employer's receipt of the notice, and the parent has 10 business days to move for a hearing on whether the order should remain in effect.

Source & verification. The statutory text, official notes and history are reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 767 (Wis. Stat. § 767.513), published by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. Current through 2025 Wisconsin Act 247. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified September 8, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: child health insurance divorce Wisconsinhealth insurance card court orderemployer must enrol child insurance767.513 health care expenses