“Rebecca, it’s just routine administrative red tape,” Daniel said, his voice softening into an encouraging tone as he took half a step closer.

“It protects us from double billing and lets me deal with the insurance people directly so you don’t have to waste your afternoons on hold.”

I smoothed the folded paper flat with the heel of my hand and scanned the first paragraph of standard insurance language.

Near the bottom of the second section, squeezed between two dense blocks of text about facility fees and emergency room transfer procedures, was a single paragraph in smaller, darker print.

The clause said that by signing, both legal parents agreed to combine all past and present care records under a single billing account, giving up any right to request outside audits or independent release of medical records for earlier visits to the facility.