ComplaintsforShady Grove Fertility Reproductive Science Center

• Initial Complaint

  09/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My wife and I were patients of SGF in NYC in 2021-2022. We still have frozen embryos with them. When we went through the process we were told that the storage price for the embryos would be $110 per month (for 2 events). Since then the price has gone up over 10% year over year (to $120 and then to $130), and we were told it will go up to $160 next year, totaling a 50% rise in 3 years. I contacted the clinic to try to understand this rise and asked for a copy of the documents we signed with the original price to see if the terms allow them to set any price they went (after all we can't just decide to stop paying, they hold our embryos) but for over 4 months I couldn't get anyone to send me the contract, or answer me if I can somehow transfer to a different facility. I called, emailed, and used the contact form but I'm just being ghosted, and we still pay $130 each month with no option to do anything about it (other than throw away our future children). It doesn't make sense to me that they can just set whatever price they want without giving us any other possibilities.

  Business response

  10/05/2023

  As requested, the signed contract has been sent to the patient through their secure portal. Shady Grove Fertility is committed to providing our patients with access to the highest level of care, which includes the safest and most stringent industry standards for storage and preservation of frozen eggs and embryos. At SGF, eggs and embryos are stored in liquid nitrogen versus a vapor. Liquid nitrogen is more expensive but is preferred as it maintains a more stable lower temperature for long-term storage. In accordance with our state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and protocols, SGF has had to implement increases in monthly storage fees over the last two years due to a number of factors including the dramatically increasing costs of liquid nitrogen over 50% -- as well as rising labor costs to hire and retain the highest level of laboratory staff. This is an unfortunate situation that is being seen throughout the country. During these financially challenging times, we regret the added burden this increase causes our patients.

• Initial Complaint

  08/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I signed up for the Share Risk 100% refund program at Shady Grove Fertility on 05/22/2022. Deposit was 27,850. Completed one IVF cycle, 17 embryos. Had two frozen embryos transfers using 3 embyros in total leaving 14 embryos left. Unfortunately, I ended up having 9 blood transfusions and a hysterectomy at 19 weeks due to placenta accreta on 01/27/23. On 7/12/23, I requested a Patient Withdrawal Notice to withdrawl from the program. On 7/18/23, I received a phone call from Shady Groves asking multiple times if I was sure about my decision to thaw and dispose of my embryos. I stated I was since I can not financially afford moving forward with a surrogate. They messaged me confirming my decision I made over the phone and that they will the share risk team know. About an hour later, I get a patient withdrawal notice form with the refund amount of 4800  and 0 as the remaining embryos in storage. I sent another message the same day asking to explain the form I received since I was expecting the full refund as I was going to thaw and dispose my embryos. On 7/19/23, my husband and I signed the forms to thaw and dispose our embryos. Since 7/21/23, I been requesting to get the Patient Withdrawal Notice form corrected. On 8/8/23, they sent me another form with 25,750 as the refund amount and 14 embryos remaining in storage. I message them on 8/8/23 stating that the remaining embryos in storage should be 0 since we had signed the forms to dispose them on 7/19/23. They said that they are aware, however I needed to sign the form to process the refund. I stated I was not going to sign a form with wrong information on it. I haven't heard back from them since.

  Business response

  09/14/2023

  We regret the issues faced while submitting for this refund. Our specialists are currently working to correct the matter and will reach out ASAP to complete this. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. 

• Initial Complaint

  07/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have received multiple ***'s from Shady Grove Fertility and everything was fine until I moved my records to another medical facility. In the weeks following the move, I received a bill for my last *** performed on 12/10/22, coded incorrectly as a different type of ***. The code was consistent on the first 3 and charged the expected amount. With the incorrect code, we are being charged $1,366.80 instead of the typical $355. We have reached out numerous times via email and phone yet no one will return our calls. The email responses we get are that they have a contract with Optum and it has to be billed that way. Optum handles our fertility benefits only after we have reached our deductible which we have not - therefore, the *** should be billed through United Healthcare with the same code as the previous ***s. We continue to receive aggressive invoices stating that the bill is past due. This needs to be addressed and the business refuses to answer the phone or return calls. This appears to be a fraudulent billing practice, which appears to be a form of retaliation due to the timing after we transferred our records to a different practice. I would like BBB to handle communication to get this sorted out to prevent having to seek legal assistance.

  Business response

  08/09/2023

  Our Financial Managers have been in contact with the patient as well as the insurance company. 

• Initial Complaint

  06/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Exact same story as the previous claim.On 2022, March 15, July 20, Nov 4, I was charged $1500 each transaction (total $4500) for diagnostic testing and the clinic claimed the insurance does not cover it. In addition, there was an additional $2100 charged without a valid diagnostic code.Later on, I found out from my colleagues and also confirmed with my insurance multiple times that my insurance should cover all of them. After checking the claims, my insurance already reimbursed Shady Grove. SO YES, the clinic got paid twice!!!!! I called and messaged multiple times and was told I would get a refund when all charges cleared. I have ended my treatment here a while ago and hesitate on future treatment with what has been happening here. (my company paid for one of the best insurance policy so we do not need to worry about claims in general, and apparently did not work here and would not get reimbursed had my colleague not told me that)And the latest, still no news yet.

  Business response

  06/30/2023

  We have investigated your account and found that your refund check was processed on 6/28/23 and these are generally mailed out on Fridays. Your refund should be mailed today, Friday, June 30, 2023. We apologize for this delay, but refunds are not issued until all services have been processed by the insurance. This wasnt completed through the insurance until this month.The refund has been issues for the outstanding payment minus a small balance that was outstanding from a previous procedure. You will receive further info surrounding this also. Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience as deposits were collected based on information received from your insurance but are now being refunded. 

• Initial Complaint

  03/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received services from Shady Grove Fertility in February 2023 and August 2023. I had two insurance companies when I received services. Shady Grove Fertility is refusing to bill my primary insurance company for the dates of services. My secondary insurance company in which I have fertility coverage is asking for Shady Grove to bill my primary insurance company before they will pay for services. Shady Grove Fertility has a contract with my primary insurance company and are able to bill them for these services. I spoke to a person by the name of ****** at Shady Grove Fertility and she was very rude. She said that she was not going to bill my primary insurance company because she was not aware of the primary insurance coverage last year. However, I spoke to my primary insurance company with her on the line and they told her to send them the bill so that they process it and she still refused. She is basically saying that I am stuck with a bill even though I had 2 insurance companies and I am covered under my secondary insurance for the services. However, due to the insurance regulations, she needs to bill my primary before my secondary would cover it. And she is refusing and I am not sure why even after my primary said that she can. She was very rude and refused to let me speak to a supervisor over top of her. I should not be stuck with a bill because of her not wanting to do her job.

  Business response

  03/31/2023

  We are unable to comply to this request as the patient electively chose not to be forthcoming with her insurance plans.  As such,we are unable to bill the plans according to our contractual obligations.  This ****** plan requires a PCP referral and authorization, none of which will be backdated by *************  We will not ********************* for services that will not be covered.

  Customer response

  04/02/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: What they are say is not true. I gave them my insurance information that they requested. Both of my insurance companies asked them to submit the bill to them. Shady Grove refuses. I spoke to a representative of Shady Grove and they could not send me anything stating that they are not able to bill my insurance company. What Shady Grove is saying is false. In fact what they are doing is against their obligations. In fact, the ****** coordinator of benefits told one of Shady Grove representatives that they are obligated to bill them since they are in network. Shady Grove has the information for both of my insurance companies and they are refusing to bill my primary insurance for the care that I received. They have not even tried to bill my primary insurance company. They are also in violation of the No Surprise Act. 

  No Surprises Act (marylandattorneygeneral.gov)

  Regards,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  02/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In June and July, we tried ovulation induction with timed intercourse treatment since shady grove recommended that was covered by my insurance. I had five visits of blood work and ultrasound in June and July. After failed attempts, we decided to stop. Each attempts, we paid our copay. Each visit was 40 after **** insurance. Later in 2022, I was told that **** is rejecting the claims in June and July because I had ***** coverage for June and July before I got laid off. Per ****, they need the claims to go thru ***** first then go thru ****. I gave my eligibility information to Shady Grove. And after waiting months of them trying to bill to ***** for the coverage I had, they are now saying due to timely filing the claims for June and July can not be filed and billing me to pay $1640 when I had two insurance coverage during June and July. Did they even try billing my insurance? Or just lazy and asking patients to pay before giving explanation other than its time issue?

  Business response

  03/18/2023

  Upon review of this account, it is found that the primary insurance was not presented to us until after the timely filing deadline for the claims in question.  While we understand the need for a rejection to proceed to use the secondary insurance, it is our policy not to submit past this period as, contractually, we may not be able to bill for the service after this rejection. We apologize for the frustration this has caused but due to not having the information on the primary insurance presented within this time period, we are unable to accommodate this request. We are willing to discuss this issue further if the patient would like to call for further assistance. 

  Customer response

  03/21/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the business still not addressing how to move forward and no direct contact person information is provided for further discussion. I gave my ***** information on Jaunary 5, 2023. That is still within 6 months for July service dates to be billed. You did not address the time your billing team were taking to address this problem. On February 23, 223, I was told that thet can not be submitted for billing. I need a patient care supervisor to address the lack of care and inefficiency of the billing department. 
  
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Business response

  03/28/2023

  Hello. I have investigated the issue of the date of the proof of insurance. While some plan info was provided on 1/5/23, the information recieved by SGF was incomplete. The ID number was not complete and there was no address provided. These are crucial items for filing with an insurance plan. Complete and accurate information was not provided until 1/17/23 and this was past timeily filing deadlines for 4  (6/15/22, 6/23/22, 6/24/22 and 7/17/22) out of the 5 dates of service in question. 

  Due to the potential for rejection and inability for SGF to further bill once this timely filing has passed, we were unable to submit. While the proper submission of both insurance plans, initially,  would have elimiated the issues incurred here, we have, in good faith, made an exception and filed the requested dates of service. We've sent these with copies of the retractions and can only hope that ***** will accept this as proof of timely filing. We are currently waiting for a decision to be shared. We have workied hard to assist in this unfortunate situation and hope that this is adequate to obtain the benefit of the secondary insurance plan.

• Initial Complaint

  02/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We are writing to request assistance in obtaining a refund for charges that we incurred while undergoing IVF treatment with Shady Grover Fertility (SGF). We have contacted Shady Grove about this matter by letter, email, patient messages on their website, and by phone. They have repeatedly ignored our requests. We began fertility treatment with **************** Reproductive Medicine and Fertility in Roanoke in May 2020. In December of 2021, we learned from our doctor at ********* that her practice was likely to be sold and that our care from the Roanoke providers would be continuous.. In January 2022, we learned that Shady Grove Fertility was going to purchase the practice, and we met with a Shady Grove doctor who explained if we decided to work with SGF, that for routine procedures like ultrasounds and bloodwork would occur in Roanoke, and that we would travel to Richmond for more advanced procedures. We decided to sign Shady Grove's “shared risk” contract. According to the terms of this contract, we would pay a lump sum of $29,300 up front, and this contract would cover us for up to six IVF cycles. Our contract states ultrasounds and bloodwork, which are used frequently for routine monitoring and drug timing, were included with this cost. However, we were charged for them, and the total came to $3,764.90. When we asked about these charges, we were told that we would have to travel to the Richmond SGF office to have them covered. Nowhere in the contract that we signed does it state that we would have to travel to Richmond for routine ultrasounds and bloodwork, and we have learned that these costs are indeed now covered at the Roanoke clinic. We have attempted to resolve this issue with SGF, but they have ignored our repeated messages. We are very frustrated by the poor communication related to these erroneous charges. We hope that you can help us resolve this situation by securing a refund for the amount that we were overcharged. 

  Business response

  04/17/2023

  ****, We sincerely apologize for any miscommunication or delay in responding to complaints. Shady Grove Fertility strives to ensure all of its patients receive quality care and we are saddened when we are unable to meet our patients expectations. The financial program you chose to enroll in covers the routine procedures you listed, such as ultrasounds and bloodwork, within the guidelines outlined in our financial agreements, when these services are provided at a Shady Grove Fertility location. Services not provided by Shady Grove Fertility would be billed to the patient by the providing clinic. Unfortunately, a part of your care took place at the ***** Clinic during a transition time before this clinic became part of Shady Grove Fertility, so they appropriately billed you for the services which they provided outside of Shady Grove Fertility. We understand how the misperception could have happened in this specific instance, and we want to help resolve this issue for you. One of our executive team will be reaching out to you via telephone within the next 48 hours to offer our good-faith assistance. We are confident that Shady Grove Fertility can help you with your concerns and look forward to talking with you.

• Initial Complaint

  01/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I went to Shady Grove and made a new patient appointment in 2021. I was told multiple times that the fee would be $300. I was told that the $300 would be collected upfront at the initial visit for all services rendered. Once I went in I was told that instead of paying the $300 upfront $200 would be collected during the initial visit and there would be another $100 collected after the follow up. I agreed. Now I'm being told that the $300 is just a deposit and there is no upfront pricing for visits. So after paying $200 I now owe another $300+ when the total cost was supposed to be $300.

  Customer response

  01/26/2023

  I learned of the issue in early 2022 and it has not been resolved. 

  Business response

  02/20/2023

  After reviewing the account with our finacial teams, it was found that the charges were accurate. There were charges for the intial testing conducted and also for the consultations with the physician. Since it appears that these may not have been accurately explained, in good faith, we would like to offer to discharge the outstanding balance of $333. We regret that this has taken so long to discover but hope that this will satisfy the complaint. This can be completed with the acceptance of the resolution. Thank you. 

  Customer response

  02/21/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I underwent diagnostic testing at this fertility clinic. I was told my insurance would pay nothing so I paid over $1,500 dollars out of pocket for testing. I found out later that my insurance DID pay for the testing, so the clinic got paid twice. I was told I would get a refund when all charges cleared. Well, out of the blue they started telling me that I had no credit with them and nobody knew what I was talking about. I have all of the receipts and and itemized account document stating my credit with them. We have decided not to pursue treatment at this clinic and I would like a refund on the money I paid out of pocket, when I was told my insurance would not be paying. This has been going on for months.

  Customer response

  11/29/2022

  ---------- Forwarded message ---------
  From: ************************* <********************>
  Date: Mon, Nov 28, 2022 at 12:59 PM
  Subject: Issue resolved
  To:  drteam@mybbb.org <drteam@mybbb.org>
  
  ID ********

  
  

  This complaint has been resolved. Well, not really, they charged my insurance company after saying I had no insurance benefits so it seems like they were trying to get money from both me and the insurance. They explained to me that it was all a "big mistake" and they're going to give the money back to the insurance company. While I don't believe that one bit, they said if they refunded me then my insurance company would make me pay them because they would do an audit and find the error. Regardless, I am no longer seeking a refund from this company, although I do think their finance practices are incredibly shady and I was lied to. 

  ______________________________________________________________________________________

  
  

  Sherri *. J*******, Medical Assistant

  ************************ ******

  *** *****************., Suite *****

  Norfolk, VA  *****

  ********************   |  ************ 

  Disclaimer:
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I'm a Service-Disabled Veteran and I have been a patient at (SG) since 2019. I received an approved referral from ***************** Hospital. It was specifically explained to SGF that the referral is only for 1 year and that they are responsible for submitting a referral request to the VA if there is a continuation of service. In April 2022, I received an email from the Financial counselor(FC) of SGF who asked me for a new referral. I spoke to her and expressed that she would need to call the VA for a new referral. I was unable to do it due to the fact I was the patient and the VA will not accept a referral request from me since I was NOW under the care of SGF. I thought everything was fine until I started to receive bills in June, July, Aug, and Sept. The bill has a date of service FROM FEB 2022 - JULY 2022. In July, I called the VA and sent detailed instructions on what needed to take place to SGF. I received a bill in Aug for a higher amount and a message from another counselor stating that they have not received the referral. I gave the counselor the same instructions that I provided in July. A supervisor contacted me early part of Sept and provided false hope. In the latter part of Sept, I received a phone from the VA. The VA stated that my services have been stopped due to unpaid bills ( SGF stated this to the VA) and they are trying to schedule me for my next appt. They are also trying to work with SGF for them to submit the bills. This is the FIRST time I was made aware that my services have been stopped. At this point, I received 4 bills with the last 1 threatening to put me in collections, but I never received any letter about my services being stopped. I received a phone call from the VA stating they will not expect any back-dated services since SGF did not submit on time. What I need from SGF: an apology for putting me in a vulnerable position, putting my status in good standing ( due to the lack of action, SGF has added unnecessary stress), billing

  Customer response

  10/06/2022

  ---------- Forwarded message ---------
  From: ******************************* <*****************************************>
  Date: Wed, Oct 5, 2022 at 6:20 PM
  Subject: Re: Complaint ID ********; Shady Grove Fertility Reproductive Science Center
  To: <drteam@mybbb.org>
  

  
  
  

  Hello, the business has resolved my compliant.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩