Ambulance charges may dramatically increase $600 trips to medical centers could more than double

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

City Hall is pressuring the Richmond Ambulance Authority to nearly triple its charge for transporting patients to hospitals or other treatment centers based on a consulting firm’s recommendation, the Free Press has learned.

The RAA currently charges $600 for a transport, but might have to boost it to a record $1,625 a trip.

In addition, Mayor Levar M. Stoney and his administration are pushing the RAA to start billing for currently free services it provides after receiving a call for service. That includes performing health tests, such as electrocardiograms for heart conditions and blood glucose tests for diabetes, and administering medications.

RAA, which currently only bills when it transports a patient, is not commenting on the proposed charges that could impact how much people might have to pay for an ambulance ride.

Chip Decker, RAA’s chief executive officer, said the prospect of such rate changes remains “speculative at this point in the budget process. “The RAA is continuing budget discussions with city leaders and examining the recommendations made by consultants following a review of RAA’s operations,” Mr. Decker continued. “Our goal during these discussions remains the same, and that is providing the best medical care possible for city residents.”

Some evidence of the pressure can be found in the proposed 2023-24 budget that Mayor Stoney presented to City Council on March 6.

The budget plan provides for RAA to receive $4 million in subsidy for the third year in a row — well short of what RAA reported in 2021 would be required to maintain financial soundness.

However, the Stoney administration plan includes, for the first time ever, a $1.4 million contingency line item for RAA that could be withheld, the Free Press has been told, if RAA declines to increase its charges.

Lincoln Saunders, the city’s chief administrative officer and a member of the

Central State Hospital/Dinwiddie County, Va. Attorney via Associated Press