Speech Therapist pulled a fast one

Location: Louisiana, United States My son has lip and tongue ties we’re trying to get corrected currently. For background the process to do this involves seeing a speech therapist to get clearance for the procedure then getting it done at a pediatric dentist’s office.

We saw a speech therapist and the report didn’t seem adequate to get approval from state insurance for the procedure, so the dentist referred us to his friend’s practice (he had already encouraged us to go there prior and the waitlist was long.) The dentist had the speech therapist call and squeeze us in sooner. We attended the appointment and they mentioned intake paperwork during the appointment we needed to fill out. They had emailed it to me a few days prior but being busy w/ a small baby I never got around to it.

We assumed the dentist (being aware we had state insurance) had sent everything over since we hadn’t been asked about insurance or payment. Most companies that require out of pocket payment ask prior to the visit or at least mention it in my experience, but we should have clarified I guess. I began filling out the paperwork and uploaded a card to the file thinking it was just standard after the first appointment but never finished it. A few days later they tried to charge $200 to my card and I reached out believing this must be a mistake, and they informed us they’re a private pay practice and don’t accept insurance. They then messaged this morning and said to keep our appointment today we had to pay now. I mentioned not being aware and they said the paperwork I signed informed me (I didn’t sign the paperwork ever as it was at the end of the consents.)

We opted to drop the whole thing since it seems like the dentist and his friend pulled a fast one on us and just see another dentist. They informed me that not signing the paperwork didn’t mean anything and that they were going to send the debt to a non-medical collections company if I didn’t pay within 7 days so my credit would be affected. Are they just trying to scare me? Is what they’re doing even legal?