Anyone have Kaiser (HMO) and experience with their Infertility/RE Clinics?

[Shellie]

Hi :)

I'm new and have a burning question. Quick intro...I'm 30, TTC#3, married, sahm, yadda yadda. ;) I live in Northern CA and am trying to get the ball rolling to see an RE and get my hormone levels, etc. checked.

I have Kaiser, though, and I've heard horror stories about them taking over 6 months to get people in, among other things.

I called the clinic and got only a recording, which told me that to "apply" to be seen I would have to leave a message and receive an application in the mail. The recording also stated that due to extremely high patient volume, they only retrieve the messages every few days but will "try" to get the forms out in a timely way.

This makes me nervous...I've already been waiting so long and have some ideas about what my problem might be. I'm kicking myself for not changing insurance back during open enrollment. At this point, I'm stuck with Kaiser till next January. I live in an area where most doctors are no longer accepting patients with the other HMOs available to me, so Kaiser seemed like the best bet since at least we can get in when we need to, etc. I'm wondering now.

Any input or experiences with Kaiser (good or bad!) for fertility issues would be greatly appreciated!!

[witchbaby]

i concieved dd with the help of the kaiser re department in denver. i was told i had to get a referrel from my gynecologist, which turned out that i had to walk down the hall and tell the re i needed an appointment. :confused:
the doc and the staff were fantastic. i've been burned by kaiser before (namely an incident when a doctor nearly killed me with an incorrect diagnosis and incorrect doseage of a drug), so i was really worried. any message i left was answered promptly. i was treated with respect (i was 23 when i started seeing them, which a lot of people consider too young to be seeking infertility treatment). they ran every blood test on me immediatly. i was given clear answers and explanations for every question i asked and every treatment they reccomended. they humored me when i panicked (i started bleeding at 5w5d and got no help at the er; the next morning, the re got me in for an emergancy u/s to make sure everything was okay). when i was transferred to the ob/gyn for regular prenatal, when we showed them the beautiful 9w u/s we recieved, they were genuinely excited to see it.
the re was my best experience with kaiser ever. i hope things go as well for you. good luck!

[Lousli]

I'm also in Northen CA, and a close friend had Kaiser as her infertility group. She had IVF 3 times, and is now mother to twin girls. She seemed very happy with the care she was getting, and I believe she got it in a timely manner.