Dr. Brian Bannister - Pain Management in Hazlet, New Jersey

“Been seeing Dr. B since 2023. Always kept my crdit card on file and had thought I was being billed all along. They took the copays, I thought they were taking the balances from it as well. Three months ago I got a bill for 3,000. I was assaulted 9/2023 & have been disabled since 1993 making less than 1,000/month. Two months went by, I had been asking about he Medicare pymt and was waiting for it to be billed before I paid anything on it, but the copays got paid, as I have to go every month & pay every month. Even one of the office staff and nurse practitioner thought I should wait until Medicare was paid to pay on my bill. I had $100 to pay. The morning of my appt., I got called and they cancelled, which I was fine with-(they said nothing about pymt.)rescheduled for the following week. Appt day rolls around, I get a call saying I had to pay $500 or they would not see me. I said I had $100, and would get more in the future. No-not good enough. They cancelled my appt. I have had surgeries with this Dr. They made tens of thousands of dollars from me. Penny office manager billing whatever scoffed at that fact. Asking me how much I think they get paid per appt.... I KNOW nerve ablations were $25,000 each. Gonna scoff like I am a joke or a liar??? I have 2 insurance companies. Then the office manager is gonna try to claim that they work with their patients!!!! HOW??? They waited until I had no more meds left, so I will go through withdrawal. I had gotten a check for $500 to get an appt. They refused to set the appointment and she refused to take my check. To be fair, when I tried to explain all this the week prior, I told her I would not pay because they refused to bill Medicare and they had taken my Medicare saying they accepted it. She told me she would not bill them. It turns out somehow it is billed through my other ins., but did not show on the bill from the Dr. Medicare, it turned out WAS billed and PAID. I called the office and spoke to one of the girls & told her it was my mistake, I realized it was the balance and would be paying and that Medicare had been billed, even though it does not show up in their bill. Instead they set and cancelled two appts. They went about things in such an insane way, causing me to have to go without a Dr. I have a $500 check from my husband who is a longshoreman and has the money, she is refusing to take now and will not set another appointment. They know I have PTSD from SA and assault in 2023. They know what I have been dealing with and she claims they work with their patients??? HOW IS THIS WORKING WITH YOUR PATIENTS??? Yeah, my name IS appropriate, cuz this establishment has brought it out. Dr Bannister is a great Dr. His office manager needs a new job. I only said I would not pay when you said you would not bill Medicare. Had you said Medicare was already billed & this is your balance, all this coulda been avoided. I hope you're proud of yourself, Penny. Leaving me in severe pain and withdrawal over a billing misunderstanding. Want me to remove this? Take my husband's check-and give me an appointment. This is just cruel and is in no way working with your patients ". I raised the stars cuz the Dr and NP were great, so was most of the staff. Billing is totally messed up.”

— Karen Skinner

“Dr. Bannister literally saved my life in his office. I was having respiratory issues and he never left my side until the EMS teams got there. I will never forget his compassion or the many calls he made to my family in the coming weeks. I'll forever owe my life to this amazing doctor. He always takes his time with me and answers questions. He's done surgery on me, treated me and is always open to my ideas and perfecting my treatment.”

— Kelly Hayes

“Dr Bannister is a great pain Dr, wouldn't go anywhere else. His bedside manner is Excellent and so is His Staff, God Bless them All. I remember having some problems one day I came to his office, The nurse called EMT for me and they never left me until help arrive. So Greatful for Dr Bannister and his team. He's so pleasant to my family and I. We will always keep Him in our Prayers, Him and Staff. Always greeting you with a smile.”

— Alltheia Hampton

“Long office waits, sometimes more than 2hrs before being moved from waiting room to exam room, than waiting again. Didn't like my mentioning this to him. Not the best bedside manner. He's the most important person in the room, not you. From the beginning, he increased my prescriptions til they finally maxed out. Never discussed trying to reduce or getting off the meds. Now I'm addicted to opioids.”

— John Stanberry