Florida Doctor told me they accept my insurance but don’t and now they are forcing me to pay out of pocket. Any advice?

Hi there,

I reached out to an Obgyn in my area because I’m pregnant and need prenatal care. I was told prior to making an appointment over the phone that they accept my insurance. Due to their office policy, we also had to present my insurance card and ID before every visit, and not once did they tell us otherwise that this insurance was not accepted. A few months and thousands of dollars later, we come to find out they in fact do NOT accept this version of United Healthcare. They admit over the phone that they dropped the ball and messed up but I am still liable to pay these expenses out of pocket. We pay over $1,100/month for our insurance coverage for my husband and me. We were not receiving any bills from their office, so I just figured it was covered because of our good plan. The lab bills eventually came in reflecting that nothing was deducted by insurance and that was the red flag that had me calling and questioning the bills’ total and finding out the truth of the matter.

Does anyone have any advice or insight on how a patient like myself can best address this issue without having to pay out of pocket for these visits and labs? If I am verbally told by a medical professional that they accept my insurance, provide me services but come to find out they don’t accept my insurance, are they at all liable to cover any of these costs? I have already reached out to the insurance company and am being told they can’t do anything.

Thank you so much in advance for your time – this pregnant mama thanks you greatly!