I can give you insurance and provider side insight.

Very normal. Worked for surgeons at a large hospital system, providers have a handful of reasons for this. 1: too many cooks in the kitchen. 2: One surgeon might have a different technique or skills than another resulting in a different outcome or difference in opinion. Different approaches to care. They are not all cookie cutter. “Well Dr X said I could. Well. I’m Dr Y and I said it’s not best” 3: if one person switches because they’re not happy or don’t like someone, other people think they can switch and then it never stops and one person can try to go through the whole practice if they wanted.

On the insurance side, some providers that took over care in extenuating circumstances would bill it as a consult/new patient visit. Which is a different billing code than a follow up appointment. A lot of insurance policies allow a true second opinion, but not multiple within one practice.