Washington Medical Group, PC 1327 18th Street Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia 20036

"I'm writing this review after an absurd experience I had yesterday at Washington Medical Group. I hope it helps others when making a decision on doctors offices. I've been coming to this office for years and I would like to make it very clear that I adore my PA I see - Christina Hammaker. Her and I have built a great rapport, I trust her and appreciate her. She is great! However, the medical group itself is troubling. Two quick notes: currently, if your appointment is over an hour, the office has you take a Covid test upon arrival. Spoiler alert - YOU pay for the test and they do not entertain billing your insurance. You cannot bring your own test. It's $40 on the spot - in cash or check. Also, you have to wear an N95 mask and if you don't have one, you have to buy one from them for $10. Yesterday, I arrived at my appointment for bi-annual, routine testing. I've had this test done 6 times here before and have never had issues. I checked in and was told I owed $750 for my appointment plus $40 for the Covid test. Apparently, the testing I receive has been denied by select insurance companies lately so the office no longer bills the insurance and you have to pay upfront and hope that your insurance reimburses you. I frantically called my insurance company, confirmed that they did in fact cover the testing and told the office to bill my insurance because the service was covered. They said that's not an option and I have to pay in advance. To make matters worse, you MUST pay on the spot, in cash, check or money order. I was not told this beforehand. Never in my life have I arrived to a medical appointment with a money order in hand...comical. You must have the exact amount in cash because they do not make change. ALSO, they can only accept checks up to $300. I had to walk to an ATM to take out the remaining $490 I owed. They told me they would email me an itemized receipt that I could submit to insurance but it would take at least a week and could not be expediated. So now I'm out $790 for a test my insurance would have covered if they had just run it through my insurance and waiting for a receipt so I can submit for reimbursement. It honestly feels like a scam. Because I have to have this testing done every 6 months, I'm choosing to find another doctors office moving forward. I do not want to consistently have to pay $790 for a service and jump through hoops. It feels silly to me. I hope this helps others! Just know that there's some strange policies you will have to work around if you choose Washington Medical Group. Also, the office is extremely outdated, they charge you $10 to send a prescription directly to your pharmacy and they are always running late."

"Must start off by saying this review has nothing to do with the doctors and how they practice. It’s the managers and billing office that will kill you. I must say this office will find any reason to charge you. I had an appointment and attempted to cancel. The appointment costed 35 but canceling costs 200. I tried to cancel 48 hours prior but they do not answer the phone. And they make it impossible to reach out to cancel since they don’t answer the phone. On top of that they will force you to sign a waiver stating you will pay the 200 within the month before continuing to ur new appointment. Then since I didn’t want to sign they canceled the other appointment and charged ankther 200 for missing that appointment. So in total they added 400 easy from just fees. It should be only 30 for the co pay. On top of that they made up a covid test requirement which is an additional 45(even if you have a test at home) And if you don’t have a (k95 no budge) mask they will happily charge you 10 dollars for it. All in all the service should be easy and affordable. But watch out for fees, they make more money from fees then the actual service. I wish I can keep going back but my pockets are starting to hurt. And it’s not worth it. Just hate going to new doctors."

"It's been a while since I have been dealing with chronic body pain. While at first, I thought that it's because of some over-exertion and the tough work routine I manage, the chronic pain in my body started increasing and became a constant issue for me. Due to this, I wasn't able to perform well at work. I was already familiar with Washington Medical Group, P.C. as it was nearby my apartment in Washington. This time I planned to visit them, and amazingly, I found the staff and health professionals there extremely nice and supportive. From performing my medical tests to analysing my issue, and then treating it with appropriate treatment, everything went so smoothly and conveniently. I feel blessed to have found Washington Medical Group, P.C. at my tough time. They are amazing!"

"I am a patient at Washington Medical Group and have been going here since 2009. To be honest, I had issues with scheduling appointments and billing when I first started going (blamed on staff turnover) but I have had no issues since 2009 and am glad I stayed with them. My responses below pertain to those negative posts I have experience with. Filling out forms - I have had no issues with them filling out forms for me and have never been charged. Of course, I had the form with me when I went to see the doctor and it was completed at the same time I was there so I'm not sure why they would charge to complete a form as part of a physical exam. Seems like there is more to the story that wasn't posted. Admin policies - yes, you need to complete insurance forms when you are initially are seen by the clinic and yes, you need to verify the information every 6 months but they print out the COMPLETED insurance forms you filled out at the last 6 month interval and ask you to verify the information. They do not ask you to manually complete the forms again. If you receive insurance coverage through your employer, your insurance carrier can change every year, which is why they verify coverage every 6 months. Paying in cash - yes, they don't accept credit cards but I do get a receipt from the office staff when I do pay in cash, even when I don't ask for one. If you are concerned about not getting a receipt for a cash payment, WRITE A CHECK! Accepting insurance - they accept what they accept. If they don't accept your insurance, then that's no reason to give them a bad review. It doesn't make sense that you have been going there for 4 years and now that you are hurt they don't want to see you. Is it because they aren't qualified to treat your injury? Or your insurance carrier changed? Be a little more specific please. Office staff professionalism - this is a teaching facility so the person who greets you and takes you back to the waiting room will most likely be new and/or a student. I am all for teaching so even though they may not have the "cooth" (sp couth) as someone said, everyone starts out at this point so give the kids a break. As a human being, you have the responsibility to help others so help the kids grow and provide them with feedback on their professionalism. I do. Responding to messages - I have never left a message for anyone to call me back so I can't opine on that issue but whenever I need a prescription and it can't be sent to a pharmacy electronically, they ALWAYS call me back within 24 hours letting me know the prescription is ready to be picked up. I see Dr. Macedo, Ms. Hammacher (PA), and Dr. Meyers and they are all professional, courteous, and respectful. I can talk to them openly and never feel reserved when speaking. These are my experiences with Washington Medical Group. You have the right to post negative feedback but you really should post the whole, and not a piece, of the story. Hopefully my post will give readers a little more perspective when deciding to visit Washington Medical Group. R/S Frank"

"This office is not a good medical office. First they require to see you every 6 months, even if nothing is wrong with you and you just need a refill on your prescription. I suspect that they just have this practice to charge my insurance a fee for a visit. The office is run down, with very outdated finishes, small, cramped space and unwelcoming ambiance. Exam rooms are small and outdated. The doctors come and go and I have not had a consistent primary care physician in this office. Lastly, I wrote a check in April of 2015. After a while the WMG sent me a bill for the amount of the check plus $40 - $50 on top of that claiming that my account number could not be located and that's why they could not cash the check and meanwhile will charge me a penalty feel. I talked to my bank - Capital One - which said that they don't see any record of the claim for the check and that most likely someone at the WMG or whomever processes the checks made a mistake or typo when submitting the check. Meanwhile the medical office will not allow me to schedule a new appointment because my billing issue has not been resolved. I've been put on hold, hanged up on and the situation has dragged on since summer. The office said they will not wave the penalty fee, which I don't feel is my fault, since I wrote a check with an intent to pay for my visit. My account has been active for over 10 years and checks have cleared before and after the check I wrote to this medical office. I would give this medical office a zero rating. Look for another place and don't give your money to this sub-par medical entity."