Recently, I was seen by a hospital that was not under contract with my health insurance. I repeatedly asked the check in people and nurses about whether my insurance was ok and they kept telling me it was ok. I also asked whether or not I needed to contact my insurance company. They said they would take care of everything and that it should all be ok. With out getting into too much detail, I've had almost $10,000 worth of visits/procedures done by this hospital. (This is actual cost).

Now, my insurance is willing to pay for their portion of the costs but since they are not under contract with this hospital, the usual deferred part of the bill has been fitted to me.

Now, I do not know what to do. It seems pretty ridiculous for me to have to pay for the whole bill because someone at the hospital didn't check to see if my insurance was under contract. I could have easily gone down the street to a different hospital, which was under contract with my insurance and not had to have paid the deferred portion of the bill.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.