Long Distance Medical Transport Cost: What Drives the Number
No company can honestly quote your trip from a web page. But you can know exactly how the number works before you call: a same-day quote, one price for everything, and the quote you approve is the price you pay. Here's what drives that price, and the five questions that expose a bad quote.
- ✓ Same-day quote, one price for everything
- ✓ The quote you approve is the price you pay
- ✓ Private pay · CareCredit · veteran discounts
Answered 24/7 by our team, not a call center.
Why nobody publishes a price list
Long distance medical transport is priced per trip, not per person, because a 240-mile discharge run with one attendant and a 2,700-mile coast-to-coast trip with two rotating drivers, oxygen and a lift are not the same product. Any company showing you a single flat number on a web page is quoting a trip they haven't looked at yet.
What you should expect instead is a same-day quote: a real number for your two addresses, your discharge date, and your loved one's actual needs. One price for everything: the crew, the vehicle, the equipment, the miles. That's what we give you, and the quote you approve is the price you pay.
It's private pay: paid directly by the patient or the family. Financing through CareCredit is available, and we offer veteran discounts. No one at our office will ask you to chase a reimbursement before we'll schedule the trip.
“Your company was not only a fair price, your service was absolutely customer oriented. Courtesy and organization, was everything I would have expected.”
What your one price covers
When our coordinator gives you your number, it's one price for the whole trip, not a base rate with extras waiting behind it. Here's everything inside it:
- The routethe actual door-to-door mileage between the two addresses, not a zip-code estimate.
- The vehiclewhich Sprinter goes, and the equipment aboard it for this patient: bed, oxygen, lift, monitoring.
- The crewhow many people travel, and who they are. On long routes that's two drivers rotating plus the medical professional beside the bed.
- Time on the roadovernight routes cost more than a same-day run, because the crew is with your family member the entire time.
- Both ends of the tripthe pickup and the delivery, including the stairs, the elevator, and the settling-in at the far end.
- A seat and a bed for familyriding along next to the patient, for the whole trip.
Ask any company what their number leaves out. If the answer is anything at all, it isn't one price, and it's the number most likely to change.
What moves the price up or down
Two families calling the same day about the same distance can get different numbers, and both can be right. This is why.
Distance
The single biggest factor. Our minimum is 200 miles; there's no upper limit. Longer routes are more efficient to run, so a 2,000-mile trip is not ten times a 200-mile trip.
Level of care
A stable patient who needs a bed and a watchful attendant costs less to move than one who needs continuous oxygen, monitoring, or a bariatric-rated lift and stretcher.
Crew size
Long routes carry two drivers so the vehicle keeps moving safely while your loved one sleeps, plus the medical professional. More miles, more people aboard.
Timing
A discharge date we can plan around costs less than a trip that has to launch tomorrow. Tell us the date early and we work backward from it.
The two addresses
A hospital with a loading bay is a different job than a third-floor walk-up in a rural county an hour off the interstate. Both ends of the route matter.
Equipment aboard
Oxygen, specialty mattresses, bariatric equipment and monitoring travel with the patient who needs them, and only with the patient who needs them.
Five questions that expose a bad quote
Most families call three to five companies. The numbers come back wildly apart, and there's no obvious way to tell which one is real. Ask these, of us and of everyone else.
We own every Mercedes Sprinter in our fleet and build every crew: coordinator, drivers, and the medical professional beside the bed. One company, one standard, over ten million patient miles since 2010, fully licensed.
“Loved the fact that the system recognized my phone number and linked my request so that no matter who I spoke with, they had the details.”
- 1
Is this price one way, or does it include the return?
The vehicle has to get to you and get home again. Different companies handle that differently, so make sure you're comparing the same thing.
Our answer: one price for everything. Nothing is added on top.
- 2
Do you own the vehicle, and is the crew your own team?
Some companies are dispatch desks: they take your booking, then farm the trip out to whoever bids cheapest. You meet the actual driver when the van pulls up.
Our answer: we own every Sprinter, and every crew is our own team.
- 3
Who is on board for the whole trip?
Not "someone qualified." How many people, and what are they trained to do.
Our answer: a medical professional beside the bed, two drivers rotating on long routes.
- 4
Is it one price for everything?
If oxygen, the second driver, or the overnight miles can show up later as an extra, it isn't one price.
Our answer: yes. One price for everything, in writing, before you commit.
- 5
Can this number change?
A low first number that grows after you book is the oldest trick in this business.
Our answer: ours doesn't. The quote you approve is the price you pay.
Want our answers in writing?
Call with the two addresses and the date. You'll have a same-day quote, one price for everything.
How families pay for medical transport
Private pay
Paid directly by the patient or the family, by card, check or bank transfer. Straightforward, and the reason we can schedule fast: nobody is waiting on a third party to approve the trip.
CareCredit financing
We accept CareCredit, which lets families spread the cost over time rather than paying it all at discharge. Apply directly with them; we'll tell you how it applies to your quote. How CareCredit works →
Veteran discounts
We offer discounts for veterans. If your loved one served, say so on the first call and we'll apply it to the quote.
Compare ACC Medlink to the competition
How our Sprinters stack up against the vehicles other services send.
| ACC MedlinkMercedes Sprinter | Competitor Minivan Services |
Competitor RV Services |
|---|---|---|
| Two professional drivers & a medical professionalMedical attendants can stand and properly care for the patient en route | Two drivers onlyTight space, no headroom No room for proper care |
Medic and two driversNo way to load a stretcher onto an RV No room for proper care |
| Our own Mercedes Sprinter fleetNationwide fleet, expertly maintained Fully licensed |
Questionable safety recordQuestionable maintenance record | Structure not built for passengersQuestionable maintenance record No crash-safety standards required |
| Real beds with memory-foam mattressesA real bed, not a reclined seat | Thin plastic mattress | Hospital-type bed |
| Custom bedside commodeDignified access, no transfers | Bedpan only | Small ambulatory bathroomNot ideal for patient transfer |
| Low-emission vehiclesBlueTEC SCR technology Complies with strict EPA/CARB standards |
Not low-emission | Not low-emission |
Medical transport cost questions
Don't see yours? Call. A real person on our team answers, day or night.
How much does long distance medical transport cost?
How fast can I get a quote?
Can the price change after I book?
Is medical transport cheaper than an air ambulance?
Do you offer payment plans?
Why are quotes from different companies so far apart?
Families who compared before they booked
2,500+ five-star reviews from families we've transported. A few from trips like yours.
families we've transported
“Excellent assistance from everyone, from initial call of inquiry to patient drop-off. Emily, Rosalba and Jomo provided excellent care to my husband throughout the long transport from Mesa, AZ to Fort Worth, TX. We could not have done it without them.”
“Very professional. Able to work on tight time line. Regular updates. Friendly staff both in transit and dispatch. Had to drive through a snow storm and arrived safely. Thank you. Worth every penny for peace of mind.”
“My mothers trip, 7.5 hours worth, went smoothly and she said it felt like 2 hours. Great crew and comfortable travel accomodations.”
“This was a very difficult situation with our relative being out of state and not able to communicate due to a stroke. Not to mention the obstacles of COVID. The coordinators were amazing: Informative, reliable always answering the phone. Was given a quote for services; I considered it to be…”
“The entire process was professional and friendly. Every single staff that I spoke with was patient and kind and reassuring. My mom was very pleased with the trip and had nothing but the best things to say about every person involved in her transportation. The cost was more than fair and was exactly…”
“ACC moved my brother from Glendora, CA to Clearwater FL in just about 40 hours. From the initial quote to the pick-up and drive, everyone at ACC was courteous, professional, and kind. My brother has dementia and is often noncommunicative, but the crew, Susan, Alex and Tyrone, were kind and went out…”
Reviewed by the ACC Medlink teamUpdated How we review our pages
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2,500+ reviews10M+ patient milesSince 2010