I feel like the financial side of things has gone downhill since they were all relocated to Rockville. The financial counselor I dealt with for my first two years of treatment (IUI/IVF/FET) was local to my particular office, and she was amazing. Very much on the ball, easy to contact, informative.
We've recently returned to SG to do FETs for #2, and trying to get info from the financial people has been very challenging. There's no longer a "local" financial counselor to talk to, I can't ever get a human being on the phone, calls are never returned, and emails may go up to a week without being answered. I've been referred to 3 different financial counselors there in the past year, and it's the same story every time. Very frustrating.

I think it depends on who you end up working with. My billing/financial experience at SG was FANTASTIC. So easy and clear and they were able to follow the insurance guidelines so I never got rejections.

At Dominion, the pricing was mostly clear, but they screwed up billing my insurance and cost me a cycle OOP and were SO frustrating to deal with. Dominion's person simply ignored my insurance requirements for documentation/testing requirements until the request for coverage got rejected (which they did every time). The first time I thought maybe it was the ins company being unclear or difficult (b/c of course they can be), but after having to dig in myself it became apparent that she was just massively incompetent. The insurance requirements were not confusing and were the same each time, but she screwed it up the same way each time. Insurance generally won't deal directly with the patient, so it's difficult to go around the RE's billing dept and get the ins company the info they need.

just chiming in here that it was nearly impossible for me to get prices as well

I got mine as I walked out from appointment.
Did your doctor tell you what you qualified for (i.e. shared risk, multi cycle). I would message them directly and let them know you would like to move forward but can't without this info. I guarantee you will get it ASAP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully you're not at K Street dealing with Cleveland (is he still there?)

He passed away.

I'm so sorry to hear this. He was so young.

Anonymous wrote:I had a bad experience with my SGF financial counselor as well. She gave me information over the phone that was directly contradicted not only by my insurance's evidence of coverage but also by the insurance benefits summary SGF itself gave me. Her e-mails also showed a lack of attention to detail, so I took everything she said with a grain of salt. Very frustrating since clearly some of the money we are paying is obviously paying the salaries of some of these folks who are not helpful at all

+ 2. We’re lucky, we have great insurance, but the info we’re getting out of SGF is confused and confusing. I’ve asked them to only communicate with me by email and to break out our anticipated costs, explaining some of the confusing initial back and forth. Instead they’ve just stopped communicating...

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully you're not at K Street dealing with Cleveland (is he still there?)

He passed away.

Anonymous wrote:I had a bad experience with my SGF financial counselor as well. She gave me information over the phone that was directly contradicted not only by my insurance's evidence of coverage but also by the insurance benefits summary SGF itself gave me. Her e-mails also showed a lack of attention to detail, so I took everything she said with a grain of salt. Very frustrating since clearly some of the money we are paying is obviously paying the salaries of some of these folks who are not helpful at all

+1

I had a bad experience with my SGF financial counselor as well. She gave me information over the phone that was directly contradicted not only by my insurance's evidence of coverage but also by the insurance benefits summary SGF itself gave me. Her e-mails also showed a lack of attention to detail, so I took everything she said with a grain of salt. Very frustrating since clearly some of the money we are paying is obviously paying the salaries of some of these folks who are not helpful at all

If you are talking about Shared Risk, we got a copy of the contract to review and consider before signing. Cleveland is gone from K St and all the financial counselors are based out of MD now, which I don't like because I liked meeting in person.

OP here. I've been at Shady Grove since April. I've done all diagnostics and then an IUI cycle in July. Moving to IVF next. So I'm well into the SG "system". I just can't understand how I can hear back from a well-informed nurse within a few hours or often immediately, but the financial people are impossible to reach and shaky on their details. Every time I hear "please leave a message and I will return your call within 1 to 2 business days" I just want to scream.

Hopefully you're not at K Street dealing with Cleveland (is he still there?)

Why is SG's financial dept incompetent?
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/535176.page

The financial counselor handed us a sheet with all the costs and options clearly laid out. This will happen after you meet with your RE and nurse at the initial appointment.
Are you going to go with Shady Grove or are you at the stage of gathering information about costs right now?

I got all of those breakdowns after my first appointment with my doctor. I met with the RE and then the nurse and then sat down with the counselor to review the plan and cost breakdown.

I'm trying to make a decision on the financial options for IVF at Shady Grove. So far I just talk to people over the phone, and it's making me increasingly uncomfortable to be having to chase down a staffer to get the details I need. The counselors are shaky on the details and it's nearly impossible to get them on the phone. All I really want is a piece of paper with all the details. Has anyone been successful at getting that? It just seems bananas to me that I'm about to drop $10s of thousands of dollars based on phone calls with people who don't inspire me with confidence on mastery of the details. What do I have to fall back on if there is ever any dispute? My handwritten notes from talking to more than one counselor? This is so frustrating. You'd never buy a house or a car or renovate a bathroom without a contract, but this is all loosey goosey while we are making a really big financial decision. Any advice?