I'm dealing with an insurance mess right now. I got a physical at a in-network doctor a month ago and they sent my blood sample to an out-of-network lab. My ins

I'm dealing with an insurance mess right now. I got a physical at a in-network doctor a month ago and they sent my blood sample to an out-of-network lab. My insurer sent me a statement last week saying that $444 of the $954 bill is eligible for payment. However since I hadn't met my deductible for out-of-network spending yet, I would have to pay that entire $444 on top of the $510 that they wouldn't cover even if the sample had been sent to a in-network lab. I believe/am hopeful that since I live in New York, which prohibits out-of-network providers from surprise billing patients without the patient's informed and explicit consent that the procedure would be considered out-of-network [0], that I ultimately won't be held liable for the bill. Fortunately as a software engineer, I can trivially afford to pay the bill in the worst case. But I shudder to think of the consequences for someone in a much less privileged circumstance. [0]: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/consumers/health_insurance/surprise_medical_bills https://www.dfs.ny.gov/consumers/health_insurance/surprise_m...