Non-Emergency Medical Transportation in Washington, DC

Where we take DC riders

The Irving Street campus in Northwest is a regular destination for our DC riders. MedStar Washington Hospital Center at 110 Irving Street NW has valet at the main entrance on weekdays and a 24-hour garage, and MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital sits next door at 102 Irving Street. Tell us the building and the entrance and the driver stops at the right door.

Across town, we drive riders to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital on Reservoir Road, where patient drop-off is at street level in front of the Verstandig Pavilion; to George Washington University Hospital at 900 23rd Street NW in Foggy Bottom; to Sibley Memorial Hospital on Loughboro Road, where patient valet runs at the Building B circle on weekday mornings and afternoons; and to Howard University Hospital on Georgia Avenue.

East of the river, Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health opened in April 2025 on the St. Elizabeths East campus in Ward 8, replacing United Medical Center. Some families still give us the old Southern Avenue address, so we confirm before the trip.

We also run scheduled trips to the District’s long-term care and rehab facilities, including BridgePoint’s hospitals on Capitol Hill and on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SW, and to senior communities such as Knollwood, Ingleside at Rock Creek and Forest Hills of DC.

Picking the ride for a District trip

The vehicle depends on how the rider moves on the day, not which quadrant the appointment is in.

Ambulatory. For a rider who walks with a steadying arm, in the same vans as the rest of the fleet. The driver helps down the front steps and in at the other end, and steps the rider can manage that way cost nothing extra.

Wheelchair. The rider stays in the chair, loaded by ramp or lift and held at four points before the van moves; if there’s no chair at home, we bring one. Prices are on wheelchair transportation in Washington DC.

Stretcher. For a patient who can’t sit up safely, such as a MedStar discharge to a rehab bed. Two crew members run the trip bed to bed; local details are on stretcher transportation in Washington DC.

Bariatric. Riders over 300 lbs get a vehicle with a wider ramp and more room, plus a second crew member when the transfer or the stairs call for it. Book as early as you can.

Not sure which applies? Describe the rider and the rowhouse or building to dispatch, and we’ll choose the vehicle with you before it’s sent.

Pickup in the District

DC pickups are rarely about distance and almost always about the curb. Rowhouses often have steps up from the sidewalk, apartment buildings may have a side or garage entrance that suits a van better than the front door, and on a busy street the driver needs a place to stop safely while the chair or the cot is loaded.

When you book, tell us the number of steps and whether there is a railing, the entrance and unit number, and anything the building needs from us, such as a call to the front desk. If a rider in a wheelchair has to come down steps, we send a stair chair team, which adds $75 each way. We build rush hour on the bridges and the main avenues into the pickup time rather than hoping for a light day.

Dialysis and standing orders

DC riders are treated at dialysis centers in every quadrant: Fresenius centers at Dupont Circle, in Columbia Heights on the Irving Street campus and in Brookland; DaVita Brentwood and DaVita Lee Street in Northeast; Capitol Dialysis on Q Street NE; and RAI Potomac and DaVita GWU Southeast east of the river.

Tell us the center and the chair times once and a standing order keeps the three-day schedule booked. If a session runs over, call for a will-call return and a driver reaches the center within 45 minutes; a call a little before the session ends shortens the wait. The same drivers tend to see the same riders, which helps when someone comes off treatment tired. See dialysis transportation for how standing orders work.

Booking, coverage and payment

Book through (703) 304-7889 at any hour, or request a trip online. A same-day trip or discharge in the District needs three hours’ notice, a booking a day ahead is guaranteed, and we confirm by call or text within two hours. Changes cost nothing more than two hours before pickup; after that, or for a no-show, the fee is $50.

Rates. A wheelchair or ambulatory round trip is $55 a leg with five miles included each way, then $3 a mile; a stretcher round trip is $230 a leg. From Eastern Market to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, just over four miles each way, a wheelchair round trip is $110. We quote every trip first, and the full card is on our rates page.

DC Medicaid. In Washington DC, the only Medicaid plan we serve is UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of the District of Columbia, through SafeRide Health: members book through the plan and request H&M Transport by name. Members of other DC Medicaid plans arrange their rides through the transportation number on their ID card. H&M Transport is not a Medicaid provider in Maryland. Outside Medicaid, a health plan whose ride benefit SafeRide Health administers can book us in DC, Montgomery and Prince George’s: go through the plan and request H&M Transport by name.

Medicare, private pay and facilities. Original Medicare doesn’t pay for wheelchair or stretcher vans. If your Medicare Advantage plan runs its ride benefit through SafeRide Health, ask the plan for H&M Transport by name. Families pay the rate card, and hospitals, nursing homes and senior communities book on contracted rates through our facilities program.

Questions we get from Washington DC families

Can you take a DC rider to an appointment in Virginia or Maryland?

Yes. District trips into Montgomery and Prince George’s run under WMATC authority 3449, and the Virginia end runs under our Virginia DMV Certificate #524, all on one booking.

Does DC Medicaid cover rides with H&M Transport?

Only for members of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of the District of Columbia, through SafeRide Health: book through the plan and request H&M Transport by name. Members of other DC Medicaid plans use the transportation number on their ID card.

How is this different from MetroAccess?

MetroAccess requires certification, is booked in advance with no same-day trips, and runs shared rides on which the driver comes no farther than the building’s outside door. We need no certification, take same-day requests with three hours notice, and help the rider from inside the home to the appointment.

How much notice does a DC ride need?

Three hours covers a same-day trip or a discharge, and a day ahead guarantees the booking. Dialysis riders can set up a standing order.

What if a DC appointment runs long?

Tell us the expected length when you book. We can schedule prescheduled wait time, or you call dispatch when the rider is ready and we send the van back.

Are you accredited?

Yes. H&M Transport earned NEMTAC accreditation before any other NEMT provider in Virginia; the review covers driver training, securement and vehicle standards.

What we can’t take

We drive DC riders to scheduled care and home again, and the van is transport, not treatment: no monitoring on board, no runs to an emergency room, and no moves between hospitals for a higher level of care. Scheduled transfers for stable patients, such as MedStar to BridgePoint, we run. If a rider becomes unwell, the driver stops safely and calls 911. If this is a medical emergency, call 911.

Vans that start near the District

Dispatch works from Gainesville, but the vans go home with drivers who live across the service area, the District included. The van at a DC door has usually started its day nearby.

In practice a same-day DC request often gets a van faster than the drive from Gainesville would imply, and a weekly order usually keeps one driver who learns the block, the parking and the front steps.

Related pages

Wheelchair transportation in Washington DC · Stretcher transportation in Washington DC · Silver Spring · Bethesda · Arlington · Alexandria · Hospital discharge · Dialysis transportation