Alexis Melnick

Dr. Melnick is very smart, sensitive, and efficient. Early on (maybe our first meeting), she told us that she likes to take the stress off of her patients and that they will be monitoring all of my hormones, etc.. I think she made this statement after I had asked about or shown my ovulation testing (urine strips vs. temperature). My husband and I have relief with this statement for sure, but we also want to know and wrap our heads around things. My first bloodwork was uploaded onto MyChart (Weill Cornell uses this system), which was great because we could go in and see - but all of the following results were never uploaded. I think Dr. Melnick’s philosophy is that unless we ask for details about things or have specific questions, she will continue with the next course without giving a lot of details or explanation. (Maybe this is standard practice because nothing was alarming in any of my test results) This has worked out well for us as it has taken the stress away at times. It has also made us gather a list of questions to ask before a visit. Dr. Melnick was recommended to me by a friend and I see why. For me (and I’m sure others), she’s been a great balance of warmth and cool / calm / efficiency.

Morning appointments have always been really easy to get in and out for me and come with specific questions to ask as your meeting with her will be quick.

Dr. Melnick and her team are very warm and very efficient. Most of my appointments have been in the morning before work (as it seems with most of her patients). She teaches and has surgeries during the regular hours I would have possibly been able to go in. My experience was always one of an efficient morning with caring people getting things done (reminded me of a family environment getting ready to go school / work in the morning).

I have had 7 rounds of Clomid and 4 IUI’s. My body responded well the first month to Clomid (I believe it was 50mg), but the second month only 1 or 2 follicles so the third cycle the prescription was increased to two tablets. This worked well for the last 5 cycles. Everything she prescribed made a lot of sense. Our insurance does not cover IVF - and, if it did we probably would have tried IVF after 2 IUI’s. She told us that the percentage of IUI working goes down each time, but she worked with us with what made sense financially. Because our insurance deductible was paid, we continued with IUI’s and Clomid through the rest of the calendar year. Now we are gearing up for IVF in this new year.

Holly the nurse who helps with prescriptions and such is super helpful - responds well to emails and is very informative. The other staff - Connie (manager?), Lindsay (nurse who assists Dr. Melnick and takes bloods), and Jersey (front desk) are all very nice and work really well as a team.

The facilities are great. The waiting area has nice light and comfortable seating. The clinic is quite big and feels very different from seeing Dr. Melnick at her office, which is a few blocks away and quite small (but, also new and very nice!). Even though there are comfortable couches, due to it’s size - it feels like a hospital. I have had to wait quite a while a few days. My first trigger shot, I somehow ended up waiting for like 2 hours (there was a class - it is a teaching facility). After that, my husband always gave me the trigger shot. All of the staff are very nice.

I now am out-of-pocket that I’m starting the process for IVF and I just paid $600 for my sounding. The IUI procedures along with all the bloodwork and ultrasounds were paid by insurance and I saw some very bizarre negotiations between the clinic and the insurance so I don’t have straight numbers for them. All of my medications needed pre-authorization and I would pay out of pocket mainly due to timing for Clomid, which is quite inexpensive.

I haven’t really gotten to a conversation with her about this yet. She said that it’s most efficient for the clinic to fertilize all of the eggs that are extracted and freeze extras - but we didn’t talk about how many would be transferred.

What I appreciate about Dr Melnick is that she normalizes this experience, which to a patient is beyond normal. Her knowledge of fertility/infertility is reflected in the confidence she shows when she tells me what treatment path we’re going to take. Whenever we talk or email I feel like I’m communicating with my much smarter more confident friend. It’s refreshing.

Take notes because she takes fast!

Dr Melnick listened to my story, asked questions and showed genuine interest in helping my husband and I conceive. I felt heard and I felt known. She engaged by asking questions and reviewing my medical history with the two of us.

We started doing IUI with clomid and progesterone suppositories and went that route six times until we decided to start with IVF. I am currently undergoing my first cycle and have started with 150 IU of Menopur and 225IU of GonalF.

All nursing staff has been very professional, compassionate and knowledgeable. I always felt like I could ask questions. I have been very impressed with my continuum of care when I see new nurses on a regular basis.

This clinic has been on the forefront of research and development for reproductive medicine. It's a very large clinic that has been partitioned into small practices around the city. Monitoring can take place at multiple locations. When I call I don't get to speak with someone right away but they are very consistent with calling back within a couple of hours.

IVF medications- Approximately $6,000 IVF cycle- Approximately $15,000

I have not had a transfer yet, but in my case Dr Melnick said she would only consider transferring two embryos at day three and that she would not consider transferring more than one at day 5.

She is young and relatable, so it feels like you are speaking with a friend and makes the whole process feel a little more personal and less clinical. She was kind and compassionate, though sometimes it did feel as if the appointments were a bit too quick and slightly rushed.

Make sure to ask for the follow-up steps for this cycle, as well as what you should do if the cycle is unsuccessful. If the cycle is unsuccessful, you will have to be proactive in making your next appointment on the right day and ordering any medicines to ensure that you have them on the day that you need them. There really isn't a lot of follow-up in between cycles, maybe because they have some veteran patients, so after my first cycle, I was a bit disoriented as far as next steps.

She has a kind and friendly manner and tailored the treatment protocol to my specific situation, and advised against more aggressive treatments that she didn't feel were necessary yet.

Because my labs were good, my age is "young" for the clinic, and I had given birth less than two years prior, she wanted to be very conservative and initially recommended IUIs without medication because she didn't want me to end up with twins. Neither was successful, so I then tried a third IUI with Clomid, which was also unsuccessful.

I only interacted with Dr. Melnick's primary nurse over the phone. All of our interactions were perfectly pleasant, but it can take some time to get them on the phone (you usually have to leave a message and get a call back by end of day). Sometimes I got a call back from her AFTER the receptionist had left, so if she told me I needed to make an appointment for the following day, I was unable to.

Dr. Melnick's office is great, in a convenient location and runs on time. Unfortunately the procedures take place at the Center for Reproductive Medicine, which is huge and does feel like a factory. Dr. Melnick did not actually perform any of my IUIs, and the location of the hospital is not convenient. This was not properly explained to me at my initial visit, and I didn't know Dr. Melnick would not be doing the actual procedure.

It was about $1,200 per IUI. My insurance should have covered my doctor visits and ultrasounds, but they took it out of my deductible.

n/a

Dr. Melnick was personable, professional, and direct. I sought out her practice for an initial consultation in 2016 as I was considering egg freezing. She heard my reasoning, but insisted I pursue only because I wanted to versus succumbing to the scare tactics of stats, graphs etc on the fertility viability of women after 35. I followed up when I was ready to move forward in 2018.

Be open about your fears, concerns, questions, etc...

Dr. Melnick was personable, direct, and professional. Understood my reasons for pursuing egg freezing but did not do a hard sell - if anything she was adamant about me deciding to do so because I wanted rather than because of the scare tactics in stats, graphs, etc for fertility viability in women after 35. I’d also done an initial consultation with her in 2016, followed up in 2018 when I was actually ready. I appreciated being allowed the space and time to come to the decision on my own with professional advice if needed.

150 Follistim, 150 Menopur for 3 days 125 Follistim, 150 Menopur, Cetrotide for 4 days 50 Follistim, 150 Menopur, Cetrotide for 2 days. Trigger Shot, 80 units of Lupron, 1500 of Novarel

My nurse took the time and energy to field my million and one questions. She was wonderful and timely as possible. Additionally, the nurses who handled monitoring hours were all friendly and efficient.

Weill Cornell is an well-functioning machine. It is extremely efficient - I was amazed by the smoothness in which monitoring hours operated and followup calls with instructions were all timely and professional. Everyone was pleasant and nice. My only critique is that it felt a tad impersonal, you know you’re one of many...no Nurse is going to remember your name or face specifically. So something to keep in mind if that’s important to you. I never felt that care or attention was lacking though.

Egg Retrieval Cycle ~8K Medications ~ 1.7 K ( was able to reduce by using unused, remaining meds from friends) Hospital admitting fee ~ 1 K Anesthesia $750 Total cost ~11.5k

She is up front and told me from the beginning I didnt have much time. She encouraged me to still try everything but was understanding in my hesitations. She is realistic and I found her to refine protocols specifically for me which I appreciate. She will also listen and make time for any questions I have. She is young and knowledgeable and willing to do what it takes.

Just make the appointment- I was afraid to find out the results but wish i had started this years ago.

She is cery responsive to all of my questions and explains everything thing really well. She is up front and honest in her assessment.

I was told to go straight to IVF since I have a low Amh. I chose to do 2 IUIs first and I found Dr Melnick to be supportive of my decision and encouraging. I am now going to try a cycle of IVF and she seems genuinely eager to do it and hopeful it will work.

She calls in the afternoon and always gives a detailed message if I don’t answer. She tries to explain things as best as possible and provide explainations when numbers are off which is comforting to me.

Cornell is highly organized and efficient. I am constantly amazed at how well things are run. Monitoring hours are convenient to those of us that work and usually move fast. I had some issues with Billing/insurance but everything was eventually resolved.

My insurance has covered most of it so far but we will eventually likely be out of pocket.

None yet but from what I feel we will do a multiple fresh embryo transfer.

She's a doctor who is excellent at her job. She gets results. Not overly familiar, not cold, she has treated me like an adult, and without judgement. Something that is important for a potential single mother.

Trust her.

The nurses were kind and very patient with my questions. They responded to every e-mail and telephone message. The doctor also kind and understanding.

Kind, patient, and responded to all questions. Gave clear directions.

The clinic is large but not too large that it feels impersonal. I will say that I had a negative experience with the billing department. A week before retrieval, I was told that I owed a rather substantial amount of money that was not covered by insurance. I was told that unless I paid it all in advance, the doctors would not proceed with retrieval. This was a very stressful time for me and I resented being treated that way.

I was always seen within a reasonable period of time.

$4,795.00