Replying here because I couldn't respond to your other comment. All the ACA plans I've looked at pay nothing for OON, so in effect there's no maximum I may pay, right? I'm curious about this redlining solution. How do you decide how much you'll pay them?
Basically, you can just piggy-back essentially on your insurer's bargaining power by agreeing to what they would agree to pay +/- a percent on top. The provider can still refuse to provide service to the updated terms of course, but it puts the ball in their court, and insulates you from "surprise" bills.
Just blindly signing it means exactly what is on that sheet of paper, that the provider settles on an amount, and you are accepting an obligation to repay it. Redlining and setting a ceiling on what you're willing/able to pay shows good faith. Which if it comes to a court case, goes a long way.
