I paid with cash and they billed my insurance – now I owe the difference

Somebody please tell me if this is normal, because it seems really bizarro to me.

So I went to a (in-network) specialist a few months ago and paid out of pocket for the visit ($160). I have a very high deductible so I typically pay cash in these cases. I tried to pay with an HSA but they couldn't run the card for some reason and told me to get it reimbursed later. Cool.

Months later, they sent me a bill for $40. I'm lucky that the amount is low, so it's not really a problem to pay it, but I was confused and called them asking why. They said that, at the time of the visit, I did not expressly say I wanted to use "cash pay" or "self pay" as my payment method. They billed it afterwards to my insurance, towards my deductible and now I owe the difference.

I think this is insane. I paid, with cash, at time of visit. Now they're telling me that, bc I gave them my insurance info when making the appointment and did not specifically say "i want to use cash pay", they billed the amount as a claim to my insurance instead of taking my debit card payment as a "cash payment" at the end, making it sound like this is all my fault that I didn't handle it correctly and say the right words. They also said someone should have taken my payment upfront and not at the end of the visit (which is what happened).

Has this happened to anyone else? Is this LEGAL? Lol.

submitted by /u/Impossible_Music_609
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