Aminah Bliss, Md's Online Review Report Card

Dr Bliss has been my OB-GYN for 15+ years and has delivered one of my baby's natural, delivered another by C-section, and delivered by third by VBAC. Each birth experience was as close to perfect as a mother could want, in large part because of Dr. Bliss. She is, first and foremost, a brilliant doctor and surgeon. She will think of all the things you want her to be thinking about, and she is somehow always realistic, optimistic, and accurate! She has also seen me through two breast cancer scares and a pituitary gland tumor scare (she was wise enough to dig deeper when my breastmilk supply didn't completely taper off after I weaned my last child). I consider Dr. Bliss a partner in my heath and even though I won't have additional kids, I will never leave her! She is a true gem. I have never written a review of a doctor before and no one has asked me to do it now, I just want other women to know how great Dr. Bliss is - she is absolutely worth coming out of pocket for now that she is out of network everywhere. She will give you the time, attention and care you want and need.

Dr. Bliss is the most warm, kind, intelligent doctor I’ve come across. She delivered both of my boys and continues to be my OBGYN for annual visits. I’ve never met a doctor that is as invested in her patients, she always takes the extra time to hear all of my concerns, and is thorough in her evaluations. She goes above and beyond. She is totally worth the office fee, which many, many do doctors now have because insurance companies take higher percentages from their take home as well. Thank you Dr. Bliss for your years of wonderful care!

I really wanted to explore having Dr. Bliss as my OB, even knowing that she charges a network fee of $2000+ just to be able to see her for your pregnancy (this fee is not covered by insurance, is only for your pregnancy and 6 weeks post partum, and doesn't go toward anything - it is purely out of pocket and gives you access to her as a provider - all usual charges for care/appts/procedures still apply and might be eligible for insurance coverage). I find this fee not ideal, but I was willing to spend if it meant I had a good match with a highly trained doctor. I called the office in July to see if I could join the network and was told that they still had a space for my delivery month and could hold a spot for me. I asked if I could do a virtual meet and greet with Dr Bliss before subscribing. I was told by Angel at the front desk that she doesn't do virtual meet and greets, so I called back once I was in town and was then informed that she doesn't do in person meet and greets either. Apparently, as a new patient you just have to subscribe, pay the fee, commit to the year long care and then you meet her. You can't even pay a meet and greet fee of $375 for 15 minutes (again, purely out of pocket, not covered by insurance and doesn't go toward anything if you decide to subscribe). I asked for any other way I could get to know Dr. Bliss so I could confirm she would be a good match, and was told it's not offered or possible. Then via voicemail the next day I was informed Dr. Bliss no longer had space to take me on as patient for my delivery time period. I'm now left to find a new provider late in the game. I'm incredibly disappointed in this experience and find her practices to be unprofessional and untethered from any financial reality or basic business expectations from clients/patients.

i live for dr bliss. i got pregnant at the very beginning of lockdown 2020, and had an okay gyno close to where i live in the valley. i wanted someone more caring for such a sensitive time in my life and Dr Bliss was recommended by a friend who had 3 children under her care, so we met and i knew she was the one. i have endometriosis and have been dismissed by male and female drs my whole life. Dr Bliss is kind, patient, enthusiastic about her patients, and really takes the time to get to know her patients. she switched offices 2020 and implemented a fee - the new office is much smaller, newer (cleaner), and she is never in a rush so i'm happy to pay. i have since recommended my best friend who has a complicated medical history, and she said she has never felt safer in a doctors hands, and i agree!

I am so taken back by the fact that when I called this office to make an appointment the woman who answered the phone was non inviting. My first question was do you accept my insurance and I provided the type of insurance I had and said that it was a PPO and she proceeded to ask me a series of questions like is it through an employer. What difference does it make if it’s through an employer? It felt like she was profiling me. Then she never answered the question on if they take insurance. She proceeded to inform me that the doctor has a $450 annual fee that must be paid upfront at the time of your first visit. I asked what is it for and she said services such as emailing with the doctor etc. I asked if I don’t receive and or use those services what happens to my $450 and she continued to just reiterate that’s the fee and I tell all patients this and then told me to go to the website if I wanted more information on the fee. I let her know how her presentation of this sounds and the fact that she never answered my question about taking my insurance and what happens to the fee is crazy. Why would a doctor charge you $450 outside of your insurance for an annual fee to talk to then about your health after a visit that is covered by insurance and if you only speak once a year what happens to my $450. Let’s be real this makes no sense whatsoever and access to healthcare even with insurance is becoming so toxic.

I’m a Birth and Postpartum Doula. I worked with Dr. Bliss on a birth. I adore this woman. I would use her as my own doctor if I didn’t live in Calabasas.

She is truly the best! She made us feel so comfortable and reduced my anxiety during the pregnancy. Her personality is the ultimate best and the labor and delivery was so smooth! She is a genius and knows her stuff! I will definitely be returning for baby #2! Her name fits her so well! True Bliss!! Jennifer A

This review is specifically about the $450 annual practice fee. Dr.Bliss is an amazing provider; however, I'm extremely disappointed to hear about this additional fee. It's extremely exclusionary to low income folks or anyone who depends on insurance coverage for their visits. This fee cannot be covered by insurance and the office explained that it's not a fee for the visit but a fee for office services like "paperwork" but I don't see it as anything but exclusionary to anyone who relies o their insurance to get care. I saw her for my annual check-ups which is fully covered by insurance (ACA requires plans to fully cover preventive services so long as provider is non-network and preventive services include annual well women's exams). I can of course find another provider who is in-network but the office also told me that this practice is becoming "extremely common" - I have never heard of this before and sure hope not because that undoes any of the good of getting insurance to cover visits and creates yet another barrier for folks to get care.

**Trigger warning: This post discusses miscarriage.** TL;DR - Dr. Bliss does not offer D&C or Cytotec (Mistoprostol) as a part of her practice. Meaning, if you have a non viable pregnancy (a miscarriage) she will refer you to a stranger and leave you out to dry if any action is needed. __________________ Full Post At 6-7 weeks, a pelvic ultrasound showed that I had an anembryonic pregnancy. Dr. Bliss immediately pushed for me to schedule a D&C. As these decisions are emotional, I wanted to wait and see for a couple more weeks to see if by a miracle something would show up, nothing ever did. When started discussing my options more fully I couldn't understand why Dr. Bliss was pushing VERY hard for a D&C vs. taking Cytotec. **Before continuing I must stress that both options are very safe, the risks for either are minimal! I'm saying this now because I plan to outline the risks for context of Dr. Bliss' poor advice but I am not a medical professional, and would never want anyone to read this and be scared of either option as they are very important options if you have a non viable pregnancy (a miscarriage) ** As we talked, Dr. Bliss pushed for a D&C to the point where I was uncomfortable and thought she was being unprofessional. She made it seem that there would be a high chance of hemorrhaging and needing a blood transfusion if I took Cytotec and while this is possible, it's extremely unlikely. On the other hand, the potential side effects of a D&C include loss of fertility, also extremely unlikely but possible. As I do not have kids yet, the potential risks involved with the D&C seemed worse for me personally. She made a few other false claims which I won't outline but she gave me unsound advice when I was at my most vulnerable. After leaving Dr. Bliss' office I called and had 2 other consultations with experienced OBGYNs who reassured me that Cytotec was a safe option. However both doctors advised that when you take Cytotec you need to take pain medication and have constant monitoring for the first few days so it's best to be in a doctor's care for the follow up appointments and blood draws required to make sure everything is going smoothly. So, because I paid the $450 practice fee for Dr. Bliss I wanted her to see me through this time and went back one last time and told her that while I appreciated her advice to do the D&C, I wanted to take Cytotec and asked her to prescribe it to me. It was then that she really showed her true colors and told me that she actually doesn't even offer Cytotec as part of her practice because she doesn't 'believe in it'. And she said that if I wanted to 'do something like that' I'd have to 'go across town to like West LA and go to Planned Parenthood were they do that type of thing'. I WAS FLOORED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was honestly too shocked to speak or respond so I told her I'd get back to her and walked out. And to be clear, I am a full supporter of Planned Parenthood but I am not someone who should be taking resources away from them. Also, every other OBGYN in Santa Monica / Venice area that I spoke to, offers Cytotec. This drug is completely common, safe, cheap and you can even order it online now. So, given Dr. Bliss' tone, I have to assume that her reasoning for not prescribing this drug or performing the D&C procedure herself is NOT medically based but personal....and I will let you come to your own conclusions about that. In the end, I took the Cytotec under the care of a fabulous OBGYN in Santa Monica who told me that in 25 years of practicing she has NEVER had an issue with this medication. I also had no complications and as sad as I was, I was so thankful I trusted my instincts and went to someone else. Oh and the worst part is that Dr.Bliss has not called, texted, emailed or anything since that day in her office. All I've received is a bill for the blood draw that day. She literally has no clue what happened with me, if I'm alive or dead. I'm just honestly so taken aback by her lack of follow up and professionalism because if she was really concerned about my choice, I think she would have at least called to make sure I was okay, right? But I guess the practice fee only gets you good service if you have a healthy pregnancy. Finally, given that roughly 25% of pregnancy ends in miscarriage I am writing this post because I want to warn women away from this practice which I can only assume will be emboldened given the current political climate. As women, we should have the power to make decisions about the care we receive and Dr. Bliss tried to take that away from me by scaring me with exaggerated facts and misinformation. I am so lucky to have such an incredible support system and the will to push back. But Dr. Bliss made one of the worst moments in my life even worse and I would never want anyone else to ever feel the way she made me feel. (OR, if you're looking for support to terminate a pregnancy, this practice is not a safe space for you.)

This is an in network provider who would provide a service that's totally covered by my insurance yet her policy is to charge everyone that annual fee to cover a bunch of "services" that I will not be using or benefiting from! Sounds like Dr. Bliss is just trying to rip patients off. Very disappointing that she claims to value accesible women's healthcare yet uses this fee as a way to take more money from women who need to be seen by a physician.