Should I ignore provider bills until they show up in my insurance claims

I’ve been trying to track medical expenses more closely lately and it’s been quite complex and difficult for me.

After copay, when sent any medical bills from health providers I’d typically just log on to their payment websites and pay without checking if that bill has shown up in my insurance claims.

Have I been doing it wrong this way? Should I only pay for bills that have shown up in my claims?

I just got into this pattern to prevent my bills from going to collections. Can it go to collections if my insurance hasn’t processed it?

Also, bills like this would have a “Your share” and “Insurance share” section which makes me think if I already know my share why not just pay it?

This system has worked fine for me and my wife so far but now that we’re expecting a baby, I just paid a $900+ bill to my provider and I’ve still not seen that in my claims since November that I got the bill.

Thanks in advance