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Can my OB/GYN require payment BEFORE service?

I'm 37 weeks pregnant. I am a stay at home mom and my husband is a government employee and his employer carries our insurance. My deductable is $200 and my out of pocket maximum is $1000. My insurance pays 80% after the deductable is paid until I reach my out of pocket max then they pay 100%. My OB is a "preferred provider" so my insurance company won't be paying his standard charges, they will negotiate. At my 2nd prenatal appointment I was given a sheet outlining what I would owe the doctor out of pocket - my $200 deductable plus 20% of all charges totalling over $900, so almost my ENTIRE out of pocket max. will be tied up in these payments I've made to his office. My concern is that when the bills start rolling in for the birth of this baby from the hospital, anesthesiologist, ect. that I will OWE some of them since he has my money, unless he really quickly submits his claim and marks it paid. Can he legally make me pay all this BEFORE he even delivers the baby? He wasn't giving me the cost upfront, he actually requires payment upfront. They set up a payment plan and I've been making monthly payments each month for my entire pregnancy for everything - the office visits and the delivery fees. I guess I'm getting annoyed because I've made about $600 in payments to him so far, and I've paid my deductable when I had my labwork done so that shouldn't be included in what I owe him upfront AND my insurance will surely negotiate the charges in the end but they are STILL asking for more money at my appointments while I'm feeling as though I should pretty well be paid up with them. It just doesn't seem right that they can require me to pay for the DELIVERY of the baby upfront.

Public Comments

1. yes he can although most will let you make arrangements
2. yes, but he has to refund any unused amount afterwards. It's an EXTREMELY common practice here in Houston, where there are tons of people that are very happy to NEVER pay the bill, and then the doctor has to try to sue them to collect . . . and they usually are judgement proof - ie, no way to collect the money. You ALWAYS pay your copay/deductible amount up front.
3. i believe that, if they state it in their policies, you have the obligation to comply. if you don't agree, check out a different doctor. best of luck to you.
4. I don't think he is asking you to pay now. I think he was only giving you an idea of how much it will cost you. Call the office to make sure.
5. yes he can make u pay. any good dr. can/will make payment arrangements.
6. This is a pretty standard practice. You can request that the doctor's office call your insurer and see how much of your deductible and coinsurance you've already satisfied, and ask them to adjust your payments accordingly. When I asked my doctor to do this they did. I hope yours will!