The APA Government Relations Task Force Subcommittee on Child Support asked the National Council of Child Support Directors (NCCSD) to encourage its members to support their respective states in implementing the electronic National Medical Support Notice (e-NMSN). The APA’s recommendation relates to the Office of Child Support Enforcement’s (OCSE) model, scheduled to be available in mid- to late June, which would allow states and employers to transmit NMSNs electronically.
The NMSN is the legal notice sent by child support agencies to employers to notify them an employee is obligated to provide health care insurance for the children listed. Currently, employers receive NMSNs on paper.
Benefits of Electronic Communication
Stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19 have made the need for electronic communication between state child support agencies and employers even more critical and immediate. “The ‘new normal’ will not reverse the trend toward virtual communication; if anything, the "new normal" will make virtual communication even more vital,” APA said.
The APA recognized that development efforts and priorities may impact states’ abilities to implement e-NMSN but encouraged states to consider the reduction in administrative and mailing costs to help offset the development costs. The standard NMSN is generally 10 full pages. With copies included, a state easily spends $0.70 to $1.00 to mail a single NMSN. Sending those same 10 pages electronically would provide considerable savings.
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Alice P. Jacobsohn, Esq., is Director of Government Relations for the APA.