I’m getting “balanced billed” – what is the best thing to do to not get sent to collections?

February 2022 – Went to ER, paid the copay

September 2022 – Birthed a baby which caused me to reach my out of pocket max

October 2022 – Received a $2000 bill for the ER visit from last February

Once I received the bill in October, I called my health insurance company to inquire since I had reached my out of pocket max. They informed me that they had rejected the claim from the hospital multiple times since February so the hospital and my insurance had been going back and forth, as my insurance believed that the hospital was overcharging for what they did and the medical records don’t justify the amount, and that there is no patient responsibility. My health insurance guessed that the bill I received in October was because eventually the hospital decided to “balance bill” me (though I’m not sure if this is the correct term for what happened since all of this is in-network) by just sending me the bill directly. I have received a past due bill from the hospital 4 times now and each time I have called my health insurance. Each time, my insurance has called the hospital billing department (while I’m on the phone with insurance on hold) and has told them to stop billing me and that I am not responsible, but the hospital is continuing to do so. I’m afraid I’ll eventually get sent to collections as a result. The most frustrating thing is also that had I not reached my out of pocket max when this happened, I would have just paid the bill even though my insurance says I’m not responsible for it either way.