Legal Question in Insurance Law in North Carolina

Re: direct reimbursement by insurance company

There are a host of complicated issues here. You may want to consult an attorney in your area about this, who can look at the documents (bills, insurance policies, marital agreements etc.). I am not sure whether it is "fraud" for the father to cash the check. Technically speaking, you and the father as parents are responsible for the bills, and so there may be some exposure for you. At a minimum, I would do the following: (1) write to the hospital (preferably certified mail I suppose) and inform them of the insurance policy and demand that they submit their claims directly to the Insurer and stating that you have reason to believe that the Insurer is making payments to the Father that may not be being used for the medical expenses and that you are contesting all charges that should be paid by the Insurer, (2) write to the Insurer stating that they should submit Payment directly to the Health Care Provider and that you and the minor are beneficiaries (or third party beneficiaries) under the Insurance Policy and that the father may not be using the Payments for medical expenses and that you consider them liable for all medical expenses, regardless of whether payment was made to the father. This question raises a lot of legal issues about liens, the duties of the parents, domestic law, insurance law etc. Hopefully those letters might get the Provider and the Insurer to work together. You should consider retaining an attorney to look at your actual paperwork and delving into this matter in more depth.