Please help me navigate this nightmare

Can I preface by saying I’m so fucking angry at the American healthcare system. I feel like I have done everything I was supposed to do-I’ve never had any lapses in health insurance coverage my whole life, and yet, I still get fucked. I had surgery in January, I had a marketplace plan with united healthcare, and it was a scheduled surgery, so there’s no fucking reason I would get a surgery where the provider wasn’t covered, yet here I am. I got slapped with a 40,000 bill. I’ve called them, they weren’t helpful and tried to say it was still processing since I hadn’t received the bill, but now I have. I can’t call till tomorrow but I want to know what the best plan of action is here? I was told in pre auth BEFORE my surgery that I would ONLY owe my out of pocket max which was 1,500 since I didn’t have a deductible. They ran my insurance, I updated them as soon as I got it. The ran it that day!! Someone fucked up and they’re trying to make me pay 40,000!! What do I do? And my mom and other people keep saying don’t pay, let it go to collections cause it doesn’t effect you, and I can apply for financial assistance- but that’s Bullshit because this should have never happened.

submitted by /u/lordlongneck
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