If you knew you would be having a baby one year, wouldn’t it make sense to pay a higher premium for a better plan with a low or 0 deductible? Or does the math still not work out?
Failing that, record yourself telling the hospital staff (or get it in writing) that any out of network charges will not be payed unless expressly signed for ahead of time.
The term commonly used here is “Balance Billing”, though that refers to a variety of “surprise” bills.
Very unfortunate. This makes the research into whether your preferred hospital/OB-associated-hospital is in- or out-of-network rather useless to some degree.
The insurance options (4 different providers over the years, 3 BIG players in the game, one self-funded) I've had so far in my fatherhood haven't offered a stepped plan, either (they were all or nothing).