Review of the Ability of Noncustodial Parents to Contribute Toward the Medical Costs of Title IV-D Children in Indiana That Were Paid Under the Medicaid Program

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

We reviewed a statistical sample of the records of 200 children from a population of 18,493 children in Indiana who were covered by Title IV-D of the Social Security Act.  Based on the sample, we estimated that the noncustodial parents of 4,808 of these children could have contributed about $3.0 million towards the costs paid by Medicaid for medical services provided during the period June 1, 2001 through May 31, 2002.  We recommended that Indiana consider the results of our study and pursue collecting the Medicaid costs incurred by the children of noncustodial parents who have medical support orders and the ability to pay.