My wife went to her annual physical. Same doctor she always goes to. In our insurance network. During the visit, doctor tells her she needs blood work. My wife asks where and when she can do that. Doctor says you can do it now, right here in the doctor's office. So my wife walks a couple doors down the hall and gets her blood drawn.

Fast forward a couple weeks and we get a $1000 bill from LabCorp. Insurance declines to pay it because it is out of network. Even though the in-network doctor told me wife to do the blood draw in the in-network office. So stupid.

Are you supposed to pause every interaction with your doctor to ask about in network / out of network?