physician-guided
Medical Weight Loss in Laurel and Columbia, MD
A GLP-1 program run by physicians, not a menu of injections. At AthleticsMD®, weight loss is medicine: a full evaluation, real labs, tirzepatide or another GLP-1 when it is clinically right for you, and a team that meets with you
every single week until the goal is reached and kept.
- Voted Best Weight Loss Clinic in Laurel · 2025
- 98.8% program retention
- Insurance billing where eligible
- Weekly payment option
What the program includes
- Physician evaluation with baseline labs and a medical history review
- Tirzepatide GLP-1 therapy when clinically appropriate, with dose management by a physician
- Weekly accountability meetings so momentum never has a chance to stall
- Nutrition and activity planning that fits your actual schedule, not an ideal one
- Insurance benefit verification before you start, and weekly payments if you prefer
- A transition plan for keeping the weight off, because the last five pounds matter less than the next five years
This is a medical program, not a medspa
We operate inside Maryland's first independent Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility, and the standard is the same one we apply to surgical patients. If GLP-1 therapy is not safe or not right for you, we will say so plainly and build a different plan. The 98.8% of patients who stay with the program stay because it works and because someone is watching their health while it does.
Common Questions
Often in part, sometimes in full. Coverage for visits, labs, and GLP-1 medication varies by plan. We verify your benefits before your first appointment so the cost is clear up front, and a weekly payment option covers whatever insurance does not.
Most patients on GLP-1 therapy see steady, measurable change within the first two to three months, but pace varies by person, dose, and starting point. Individual results vary, which is exactly why we track yours weekly instead of quoting an average.
No. The program is built around a transition phase: as you approach goal, we adjust medication and shift the weight of the plan onto nutrition, activity, and habit structure so the result outlasts the prescription.
Start a conversation
One call, a benefits check, and a first appointment. That is the whole first step.
your data, protected
Secure Payments
Every payment to AthleticsMD® runs through an encrypted, PCI-DSS compliant processor. Your card number never touches our servers and never sits in your medical chart.
Encrypted End-to-end
Card details are encrypted in transit and handled entirely by our payment processor. Our staff see confirmation of payment, not your card number.
Separate from your chart
Billing records and medical records live in separate systems. Payment activity is never stored alongside your protected health information.
Receipts, instantly
Every payment generates an emailed receipt for your records, your HSA or FSA administrator, or your accountant.
Ready to pay a balance? It takes about a minute.
patient billing
Make a Payment
Pay a balance in about a minute. Have your name, date of birth or invoice number, and a card ready. HSA and FSA cards are accepted.
Payment plans
Weekly payment schedules are available on select programs, including medical weight loss. If a balance is easier to manage in pieces, ask; splitting it up costs nothing.
Something look wrong on your bill?
Call before you pay. Billing questions get answered by a person, not a portal.
coverage
Insurance and Medicare at AthleticsMD®
We bill insurance and Medicare for covered services, and we tell you the cost
before
care, not after. Call with your member ID and we will verify your benefits ahead of your first visit.
Medicare
AthleticsMD® accepts Medicare. As Maryland's first independent Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility, our clinical model is built around the CORF structure Medicare itself defines: physician-directed, coordinated outpatient rehabilitation under a single plan of care.
Plans we work with
- Medicare
- CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
- Aetna
- Cigna
- UnitedHealthcare
- Johns Hopkins EHP
Networks change and plans differ within a single carrier, so treat this list as a starting point, not a promise. The five-minute benefits check we run before your visit is the promise.
Self-pay and cost transparency
No insurance, or prefer not to use it? We offer clear self-pay rates, and under the federal No Surprises Act you are entitled to a Good Faith Estimate of expected charges before scheduled care. Ask and we will put your estimate in writing.
Common questions
Yes. Call 844-FIT-MD4U with your Medicare number and we will confirm coverage for the specific service you need before you come in.
Frequently in part. Visits and labs are often covered; GLP-1 medication coverage varies widely by plan. We verify your specific benefits before you start so there are no surprises.
We will tell you before your visit, give you a written estimate, and help you weigh self-pay rates against out-of-network benefits. Many patients find the transparent self-pay price simpler.
Verify your benefits in one call. Have your insurance card ready and we will do the rest.
when you're sick today
Same-Day Sick Visits in Columbia and Laurel, MD
Call before 2:00 PM and we will work to see you the same day at our Columbia or Laurel clinic. A physician-led visit with your history in front of us, rapid testing down the hall, and IV fluids on site if you need them.
What we treat the same day
- Colds, flu, and COVID, with rapid testing on site
- Sore throat and strep
- Sinus and ear infections
- Urinary tract infections
- Stomach bugs and dehydration, with IV fluids available in clinic
- Minor sprains and strains
- Medication needs during an acute illness
- Work and school notes
This is not emergency care.
Chest pain, trouble breathing, signs of stroke, severe bleeding, or a serious head injury: call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room now. Same-day visits are for illness that can safely wait a few hours, not for emergencies.
Why patients calls us instead of urgent care
A physician, not a qeue
You are seen inside a physician-led practice that can pull your history, not a kiosk that meets you as a stranger and forgets you by Friday.
Diagnostics and IV therapy on site
Rapid testing and IV hydration live in the same building, so answers and treatment happen in one visit instead of three referrals.
Insurance, Medicare, or self-pay
We bill insurance and Medicare for covered visits and post transparent self-pay rates for everyone else. No surprise on the way out.
How it works
- Call 844-FIT-MD4U. Tell us your symptoms and which clinic is closer, Columbia or Laurel. We hold a same-day slot.
- Come in. You see a clinician, get tested if testing helps, and get treated on the spot where possible.
- Leave with a plan. Prescriptions sent to your pharmacy, a note for work or school if you need one, and a follow-up booked if your illness calls for it.
Common Questions
No. New and established patients are both welcome for same-day sick visits.
Call first. A two-minute call lets us hold your slot, prep your chart, and cut your waiting room time to nearly nothing.
No, and that is the point. We are a physician-led medical practice that reserves same-day capacity for sick patients. You get continuity and a real chart, not an episode of anonymous care.
Verify your benefits in one call. Have your insurance card ready and we will do the rest.
for clinicians
Refer a patient
Three minutes on the form below, and we take it from there. We contact your patient within
one business day and report back to you after evaluation. You remain the physician of record; we optimize and return.
Best-fit referrals
- Pre-surgical optimization through PREOOP™ before major elective surgery
- Deconditioned or high-risk patients who need structured preparation before an operation
- Chronic pain patients who need restorative, physician-directed rehabilitation
- Medical weight management, including GLP-1 therapy with weekly follow-up
- Medical disability evaluation
What to include
Patient demographics and contact information, insurance details, the reason for referral, and any relevant notes or imaging. Incomplete referrals slow your patient down; a complete one moves same week.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call and ask for the referral coordinator.
how we practice
The AthleticsMD® Clinical Model
Most outpatient medicine treats one problem per visit and sends you home. We built something different: Maryland's first independent Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility, a physician-led structure where prevention, rehabilitation, and recovery run as one coordinated program under one roof.
What a CORF is, and why independence matters
A CORF is a facility type Medicare itself defines: physician-directed, coordinated outpatient rehabilitation delivered under a single plan of care rather than a scatter of disconnected appointments. Hospitals usually run them. Ours stands alone, which means the model answers to patients and outcomes rather than to a health system's referral funnel.
Three divisions, one chart
Outcome & Performance Optimization
PREOOP™ surgical prehabilitation, medical weight loss, and preventive and functional medicine. The work that happens before illness, and before the operating room.
Restorative & Pain Medicine
Chronic pain management and medical disability evaluation. The patient, methodical work of getting function back.
Infusion & Diagnostic Sciences
We bill insurance and Medicare for covered visits and post transparent self-pay rates for everyone else. No surprise on the way out.
Because all three divisions share one record and one physician-led team, a same-day sick visit can become an IV in the next room, and a weight loss patient heading toward knee surgery can move into prehabilitation without a single referral leaving the building.
The PREOOP™ pathway
Patient demographics and contact information, insurance details, the reason for referral, and any relevant notes or imaging. Incomplete referrals slow your patient down; a complete one moves same week.
A mode that travels
The same protocols refined in Columbia and Laurel feed
Healing Vessels International: they become Global Surgery University curriculum for perioperative teams in West Africa and the operating blueprint for hospitals CHHI is building abroad. When you are treated here, the evidence of what worked does not stop at the county line.
Patients and referring clinicians welcome.
One call reaches both the front desk and the referral coordinator.
vendors & partners
Send an Invoice
Email invoices to
care@athleticsmd.org
with "Invoice" in the subject line. Standard terms are net 30 from receipt of a complete invoice.
What a complete invoice includes
Complete invoices pay on time. Incomplete ones come back with questions, which helps no one's cash flow.
- Physician evaluation with baseline labs and a medical history review
- Tirzepatide GLP-1 therapy when clinically appropriate, with dose management by a physician
- Weekly accountability meetings so momentum never has a chance to stall
- Nutrition and activity planning that fits your actual schedule, not an ideal one
- Insurance benefit verification before you start, and weekly payments if you prefer
- A transition plan for keeping the weight off, because the last five pounds matter less than the next five years
Ready to pay a balance? It takes about a minute.