If I could give a zero I would. Rob Steel is an EMT and he trains the new EMT's as well. He has preference as to which hospitals he likes to use and will not allow the patient to choose the hospital of their choice, even if they are an employee of a hospital and their medical emergency occurs on that hospital's campus. I had an incident at my workplace and he told me I could not go to my own hospital and made me choose another "out of network" hospital. Let me be clear - my hospital was NOT on diversion, he just didn't want to use it. read more

Like other reviews, I am rating a 1 only because I can't rate this any lower. My child was transported approximately 4 blocks. The bill was in excess of $3k. She did receive meds from the EMT prior to leaving our home; however, there's no way the medicine totaled that dollar amount. Additionally, they added on expenses because I rode in the ambulance as well. I'm not sure what else they'd expect when transporting a minor. Honestly, this should be illegal. read more

I am giving the midline review because it is an average of the level of care I received from the EMTs, a 5 star, and the fee rates used by RAA as a 1, because there are no stars below zero. I suffered what was diagnosed as a Level II trauma with an internal injury with minor bleeding. I had gotten myself to Retreat Hospital in the Fan but they are not equipped for long term care for my type of injury short of diagnosis. I was transferred to Doctor's Henrico. The services required was literally just an ambulance ride. No pushing of meds, no special needs, just travel. And as noted, the team in the ambulance were top notch. However, I just got the bill. $1,507 for what is classified as Basic Life Saving (BLS) and $279 in mileage fees for a distance of 8.5 miles according to google (~$33/mile). Because not all insurance companies negotiate with regional providers, only $500 was covered by my insurance using national rates for BLS. But still, $1,800 for the bus, 1 driver and 2 EMTs and 8.5 miles of actual travel seems a little ridiculous. If something like this ever happens again and I'm in Richmond, I'll ask the hospital staff to alert the other hospital I'm coming and call an Uber. read more

Company refuses to work with my insurance company, and insurance company refuses to pay their exorbitant rate of over 1500 dollars.

I'm not one to slam public service workers, but the business practices of RAA are deplorable. I was transported from Havana 59 to MCV hospital. That's one mile. And whatever happened in that one mile was worth about $600. Not to mention they don't honor wide-spread insurance or even help out students, unlike MCV -- who wiped my bill due to being a VCU student at the time. So after that, I contacted them to explore ways to settle this debt and found that I would have to pay the entirety of it, as a student getting through grad school that made me sign a waiver that I would not work over 20 hours. So my hands were kind of tied monetarily. None the less, I set up autopay with them over the phone to chip away as I could. I get a bill again indicating I had missed several payments and called again. They told me I hadn't paid and that my information had not been saved for auto pay. And I had to give them my bank information YET AGAIN. Between some life changes, moving, a phone number change, I can image it would be hard to reach me, but my address changes were on file and they were very happy to seize my tax returns (attached to my new address) a year and a half later. Fast forward about 2 years later, I get a mysterious collections charge on my credit report. Come to find out these dummies took me to collections and that negatively affected my credit score by 100 points. Oh FICO credit score, you look sick. So, if it's between dying and having the RAA come save you, maybe consider dying. Or take an uber. read more

The RAA has got 99 problems, and the main one seems to be that they despise their jobs. It shows too, from their dead eyed stares to the abysmally low level of "give a f**k" the seem to have. Bottom line, usually you wouldn't think twice about calling 911 in an emergency, but knowing that RAA will inevitably arrive gives me pause. Death might not be the optimal outcome, but compared to the alternative of having to deal with the RAA, I welcome death like an old friend. read more

If I could give 0 stars, I would. RAA has a monopoly in the Richmond area, and does not participate in any insurance plans. So even if you have insurance, you are still going to get hammered on the bill. We had an accident recently, and we had a choice as to whether to take the ambulance or drive ourselves to the ER. We have insurance, so we chose to take the ambulance. Never again. This company is despicable. When I called them to ask why I would have to pay hundreds of dollars extra over the hundreds of dollars that my insurance company paid, they literally laughed and told me that I don't have any choice if I want to use an ambulance in Richmond. Incredible. I can hardly believe that this is legal. read more

Please use the volunteer rescue squads around this area. This is not the type of help you want to be getting in an emergency. Not only do they show you how much they hate having to come to these calls, but when you have to pay the bill, they make sure to be the least amount of helpful they can be. read more

I have had the RAA respond to several calls before, and if there is one thing that stands out, it's the fantastically bad attitude of the EMTs. One example: Around 8am on a Sunday, my neighbor was having sharp stomach pains and so 911 was called. I helped him downstairs and was waiting with him on the steps outside of the apartment building when the RAA rolls up. One of the EMTs approached me so I explain what's going on while the other EMT apparently found it the perfect time to start paperwork. The second EMT continued asking my neighbor for basic information while my neighbor was doubled over in pain, barely able to squeak out any answers. I finished talking with the first EMT and she just looked at me for a second, furrowed her brow, and then with her face twisted into a sardonic smile she asks, "Are you drunk?" I couldn't believe what I had just been asked. I tell her that no, of course I am not drunk, but she keeps asking me. Keep in mind, this is at around 8am on a Sunday. At this point, I was so far beyond livid pissed, but unlike RAA, I can keep things professional if I have to. I continued to tell her no and yet she proceeded to ask me several more times, each time a little more accusingly, while completely ignoring my neighbor's medical needs. Even reciting the alphabet backwards did not dissuade this miracle worker. To my surprise, the other EMT did finally exhibit the slightest bit of competence and eventually got my neighbor in the ambulance and drove off. It cannot be overstated how unprofessional, rude, and downright reckless the conduct of RAA EMTs has been every time I have had to interact with them. The few other times when I had no choice but to call 911, I'll always be keeping my fingers crossed that a fire truck gets here first. Of yeah, and of course I'll pay the ridiculous ambulance bill. Right after hell freezes over and RAA gets some competent EMTs, I'll get right on that. read more

RAA is a great organization with great people. The reviews on RAA do not reflect the system I know. The providers are excellent and have to deal with stupidity all day. You attack them but fail to realize they are on the go constantly and don't get meals sometimes. If you find the short tempered it is most likely do to your nonsense and the nonsense before you. People in RVA use them as a taxi service. 99% of calls do not require an ambulance. However you must transport if the patient wants to go. The abuse of the system and abuse by patients make it hard to be more compassionate. RAA is not a monopoly! It was set up by the state (hence authority) to provide EMS to the city residents because the volunteer squad could not keep up. The same volunteer squads that some of you are advocating for use to only go to the middle and upper class areas to get patients with insurance. RAA responds to calls anywhere in the city with the second best response time in the nation after Seattle. Where if you used a volunteer squad would probably be at least double the 7 min response time you as city residents already have. Sometimes in EMS we have to be wary of situations, if we believe you are intoxicated there is a reason. If you smell like alcohol or have suspicion of being under the influence we need to know. We are in dangerous situations a lot and need to know if you are a risk to the safety of the crew and patient. RAA does accept insurance of all types, however if it is not a true emergency warranting an ambulance your Insurance will not cover it. RAA must receive the money due to the high cost of the EMS system. Especially when most bills go unpaid. Everyone on here is quick to insult and condemn the crews and organization but rarely would even say thank you to the crews. If some of you could only walk in the boots of the providers for a few weeks then you will realize not to be so quick to judge. read more

I thoroughly agree with Mary G. I give them a 0! I'm 61 years old and live in a second floor apartment. I fell at home and fractured my fibula. I could not walk or st and. The EMTs tried to get me to hop down a flight of stairs in excruciating pain! They then coded the call incorrectly so that my insurance would not pay for it. I now must pay $550. out of my grocery money! I now know that if I fall at home I'll just have to lay there and hope I die! read more