Health care provider gets caught in scam after man maliciously complies as a 'lawyer'.

I caught my healthcare provider trying to scame me after I maliciously complied with them.

Cowlthor writes:

I was involved in a severe car accident in 2021, which resulted in a five-day hospital stay and required months of physical therapy and follow-up care from various specialists.

Throughout most of my treatment, tasks such as obtaining medical records, scheduling appointments, obtaining pre-authorizations, and managing anything related to my care were usually straightforward and often only required my name and birthdate for authorization.

However, I encountered an issue when I contacted a healthcare provider who had incorrectly billed my insurance, resulting in them refusing to cover the expenses, leaving me stuck with the bill. The conversation went something like this:

Company: Hello, please be advised that this call may be recorded for training and quality purposes. How may I assist you today?

Me: I recently received care from X person at X location, and there was an issue with the billing. I'm being billed for it instead of the insurance company.

Company: Can I please have your name and birthdate? (I provided the information.) I am unable to discuss this matter with you.

Me: What? Why not?!? Company: I am only authorized to discuss this matter with an attorney.

Me (in a tone of malicious compliance): WTF?!? Alright then, I am representing myself for all legal matters. Now, please discuss this matter with me. Company: (four seconds of silence) One moment, sir.

I was placed on hold for approximately 3 minutes, and when they returned, we immediately began discussing my issue, ultimately resolving it quickly. It seemed like they had not encountered this situation before and had to determine whether this loophole was valid (which it is and always should be). You do not necessarily need an attorney for such matters.

Here are the top comments:

Unique_Engineering23 says:

You know it's a BIG f%#kup when they want to skip directly to the lawyers.

Pan-Pan90 says:

If they could only talk to an attorney, then they should have said "I'm sorry, but your attorney has to make contact with our legal department". The rep screwed up by saying anything but that, which means it was likely what I call "The Dodge". I've experienced "The Dodge," though it was "This is Medical's problem, no, it's the dental's department." Joke's on them, it was both and I called them out for it.

brittaly14 says:

Isn’t there a medical records act that requires they disclose to the person who received care, and at a lower rate than a third party?

What do you think? Was the provider giving OP the run around or is this standard practice in the business?