The billing here is horrible! The billing is deceptive and predatory and you will get billed for things “outside” the cycle cost that are not at all explained upfront. For instance, they will send some of your blood work out to labcorp, which then bills you separately. When you try (and yes I say try as it’s hard to get a hold of anyone) and contact CCRM, they’ll tell you you’re responsible, even though it’s part of the cycle cost you should have already paid $11k for undergoing. It’s just on a whim that CCRM may decide to send out your bloodwork to labcorp (or do it in house where apparently that is part of the cycle cost) and all of sudden you get charged $100s extra.
Egg freezing cycle was okay, the run up was very disorganized and my patient care coordinator sort of just disappeared.
I’ve done other cycles elsewhere that were way less expensive and so much better organized (Extend Fertility). I’ll be going back to them for my next one.
I just had my first appointment at CCRM and finally feel like I have found some relief from the never ending cycle of confusion that is infertility. I have been to several doctors and have had no answers for 1.5 years. Dr Levine found an answer in less that 2 minutes during my sonogram. He took the time to listen to my concerns and I never felt rushed. I’d say we established some much needed trust that I haven’t felt with other doctors along my infertility journey. There were a few other fantastic people I had the pleasure of meeting at CCRM, Latoya- who helped me through my blood draw where I sometimes pass out (I definitely did not this time, she made it so easy!) and Micheal who has continued to be extremely helpful as I navigate scheduling the next steps . As someone who is very nervous around doctors, I feel safe and excited to continue my journey with Dr Levine and the whole CCRM team!
I understand that this is a private equity owned operation and you are trying to cut costs in every corner. But it is absolutely ridiculous how patients cannot get a hold to anyone at the office -- not even a front desk person. The only option is to leave a voice mail and wait for them to call you back whenever they want to.
They were not like this even just two years ago. Who knows when or if they have already started lowering the quality of medical services to lower expenses, like the way they did on operations and customer service. Be cautious before you choose CCRM.
Stay away!!! If you want to be scammed then you may proceed. Let me put it this way, at 35 I had 6 mature eggs w 3 embryos at day 5 from CCRM with a HUGE push to do more (I had 20+ follicles). With another clinic at 38, I had 17 mature eggs retrieved with 13 embryos at day 5 (completely different outcome). Besides that, they tried to scam me to continue paying for frozen embryos even though they were no longer there. I even made a point to meet with my DR in CCRM to ask why this difference, and she just kept quiet. The only reason I went to CCRM in the first place is because I was dumb enough to find them on 1st page of Google and thought they were good - never occurred to me it was just good SEO and nothing more.
Update: As I have been notified that this review was setting records by Google, I wanted to elaborate to perhaps help others understand better. I was so lost, and I wish I had someone tell me about their experience. So, here is where doctors differ: You have a pre-IVF preparation that bad doctors completely leave out. In CCRM I was not given instructions on how I should potentially prepare to have a better outcome. My other doctor did his research and ordered complete blood work (not just the basics AMH, FSH, etc), but instead also looked at my testosterone, immune system, etc. I was also on DHEA (for my slightly lower testosterone), Coq10 (600 mg per day for 3 months), vitamin D, prenatal, etc and healthy diet for 3 months and they told me they would not proceed until they have taken a look at my blood work again to ensure I was good to proceed with IVF (definitely does not happen with CCRM). During the stimulation part of IVF, to be fair, I did not notice a huge difference with the exception that with my other doctor he used estrogen priming with patches before starting stimulation (obviously not sure if everyone needs this). I had over 20 large sized follicles, and on the day of the retrieval, I had 17 mature eggs at 38 (you can see above that this number was 6 mature eggs in CCRM and that was 3 years BEFORE at the age of 35). I had 13 embryos at the other clinic from 1 retrieval in comparison to 3 with CCRM. This part also REALLY matters which is preparation for transfer - my current doctor looked into me having a possibly elevated immune system which many doctors don't pay attention to. They also looked into clotting (again other doctors may omit this). They transfered a healthy embryo (tested and normal), and I have a healthy baby girl now that is 6 months old. I am also going for the second one as I have 8 embryos left.
My best advice is to do a LOT of research. Most people are naive and do as I did with CCRM - look up the first doctor that comes up on Google and trust them to do a good job. What a mistake... CCRM was awful, but it does not mean you would have necessarily a similar experience somewhere else. You just REALLY have to do your homework to understand as these procedures are incredibly expensive and also hard on our bodies. If you get a feeling that a clinic is running a "business" and looking to turn a "quick buck" bc your doctor sounds more like a salesperson and not a doctor, i.e. they are not asking you very detailed questions and ordering extensive blood work FIRST to really understand what the possible issues is or if there are any, I would probably see this as a huge red flag (btw, that was exactly what happened in CCRM - quick consult and pressure to "do it right away"). The time is definitely an issue, and you want to do this when you are younger, but you may get terrible results just because you rushed and did not do your homework.
Wishing everyone good luck!
I cannot speak more highly about my experience with Dr. Levine and his incredible staff. I felt completely taken care of, from the compassionate nurse staff to the patient coordinator to the amazing women at the front desk to the anesthesiology team to the surgery nurse team. This is an intense medical process, and going through it with people whom you can trust and are kind + smart makes it easier. Additionally, everything is coordinated through an app that makes communicating with the team incredibly clear and easy. There is also a great educational portal with videos that walk you through how to inject, etc., step by step. I can't imagine going anywhere else.