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Business Profile

Ambulance Services

Central Emergency Medical Service

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Ambulance Services.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 25 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 11 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/11/2025

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    On January 24, 2025, I was in a car accident at the corner of 400 NB and ****************. I was taken to **************************, which is located at ****************************, *******, *******. The travel distance is 9 miles as stated on the invoice. I was not hooked up to any equipment, nor to an oxygen bag, tubes, nor broken bones, etc. And, I was not given any medication. Central Emergency Medical Services is considered to be out of network under my insurance. So, I have to pay them out of my pocket. The fee of $1,839.92 is extremely excessive for a non-critical and non-cold blue transportation ride that took no longer than 9 minutes. The cost of the service is extremely excessive. Central Emergency Medical Services needs to reduce the cost of the bill ( bill adjustment). I understand why Central Emergency Medical Services is not a BBB-accredited company. They are unethical and greedy. The fee that they are charging is considered to be a form of extortion. Thus, the price that they are charging is excessively high, unreasonable, and shocking, to the point of being considered unfair or unjust.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/02/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I was not in a condition to approve a $6,000 ride.I feel this was predatory billing or surprise billing.Typical Atlanta amount for BLS non emergency is $500 -$1200 with $20 ************** already paid $1,494.00

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:04/09/2025

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Our daughter has severe respiratory issues that occasionally require emergency transportation to Children's Healthcare of ******* (CHOA). On December 19, 2024, she experienced an episode that necessitated calling 911. The dispatcher sent Central EMSwe had no control over the selection of this provider. Unfortunately, Central EMS is out-of-network with all insurance providers, including our insurer, ******. Consequently, we received a bill totaling $1,809.12. Anthem covered $602.77, leaving a remaining balance of $1,206.35. Anthem processed the claim as in-network, paying the maximum allowable amount, as we had already met our deductible and maximum out-of-pocket limits. Therefore, Central EMS should waive the outstanding balance, considering that ****** has determined the paid amount to be fair compensation for this type of emergency service.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:02/25/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    i was billed ******* above what my insurance paid for an abulance ride on november *******

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:02/07/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    On 09/23/2024, Central EMS transferred my child between ***************************** ******** to ******************************* (run 24-141223). ***************************** gave me no option to select the Ambulance provider and the basic life support non-emergency transfer was done by Central EMS covering a distance of only 7.3 miles. Few weeks later I found that Central EMS charged me an abusive total of $4290.62 - including $3850.00 of BLS Non Emergency Base Rate. My insurance (Anthem BC/BS) payed $1224.56. They sent a check to me and I sent to Central EMS so that I could negotiate a lower bill - expecting that a more realistic balance. They offered 40% discount over the remaining $3066 balance - which I did not accept. Central EMS service is unrealistically overpriced and I present 3 dissimilar examples to justify this observation: the ambulance transport provided by Bryan County *** from my home to ************************** done on 09/22 covering about 20 miles charged $736.4; a similar service provided by **************** on 12/11 transferring my child from ********************************** to *******************************, covering 2 miles charged $1925.00 (from which $1795.00 is the flat rate); and lastly **************************, a non-profit organization that provides information about local medical costs, indicates that transportation by ambulance equipped with basic life support, non-emergency flat rate is $1285. Considering that I had no option to select the *** provider and the abusive difference between Central EMS charge and the market practicied charges, I offer to pay $501 on top of the $1224 paid by Anthem BC/BS. The total $1725 corresponds to $ 1285 flat rate indicated by FairHealthConsumer plus the mileage rate ($130) and disposable supply fee ($310) charged by Central EMS. It is a fair and reasonable offer that does not put me and my family under further undue strain after reaching my insurance deductible and depleting the ****

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:01/21/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I made a payment in November 2024 for ambulance services and I went ahead and made a payment of $225. Naviguard talked the amount down to where I owe absolutely no money. They were sent in a new EOB which detailed this and after arguing with a rude representative, they submitted the request. After waiting weeks, they have still not refunded the money and keep arguing why they won't.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:01/14/2025

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Central EMS pick me up took me to the hospital and I was admitted to the hospital and they lost my jewelry my cell phone and all my clothes and have yet to find them

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:12/24/2024

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    April/27/2024 My mother took me to ****************** in **********, ** as emergency for psychiatric issue. My mom left for home After observation and waiting for long hours around 10:15 pm they told me that I would be taken in ambulance. Neither the hospital nor **************** took permission from my Mom or did I sign and agree to use the ambulance. Insurance did not have ambulance agency in network so they paid ******* to my Dad as he is the primary insurance holder. My Dad thought its for ****************** and paid the northside around 3443 what was for northside. Central EMS sent bill of $5520.31 in Dec 2024. We referred to all communications and found that ******* was for Ambulance Central EMS. Dad paid the Central EMS $3399 on Dec/23/2024. We are not responsible for a ***** above it. Central EMS is a cheat to charge $5520.31 for 1 ride of 36 miles. Outrageous charges.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:11/27/2024

    Type:Order Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    On 6/5/2024 Central EMS transferred my 12-year old son from an acute care hospital to a mental healthcare facility (run 24-82556). We had no say in which company was called or to which facility my son would be transported to and we did not have the option to transport him ourselves. He did not need any medical treatment during transport. We received a total bill of $7894.60 which our insurance company covered $1799.56 of (Central EMS is out-of-network of course) and stated that we owe $949.90 out of pocket and nothing else. Of course we were balance billed for $6095.02 by Central EMS as that seems to be the standard practice after doing some research. We have spoken with Central EMS several times and even used ClearHealth (per our insurance company) to help us negotiate with them which they flat out refused. We are not able to pay them this exorbitant sum as my son has ongoing mental health needs that have put my family under a financial strain. It seems like an ambulance company can make up any price they feel like, because there are no laws protecting the consumer from surprise ground ambulance bills. It is not like we got a quote for the transport beforehand. We filed an appeal with our insurance as well which was denied because they processed it correctly up to the maximum allowed amount which Central EMS does not accept. We have spoken to several representatives and have offered to pay them $2350 which we can afford with savings we have. This would amount to a total of $4149 (insurance and our portion we offered) for their services, but they said they will rather have the account go to collections. I have done some research on ********************** and it seems that this sum would be the average price at the 80% for our area (flat fee plus mileage). The billing practices after the fact and after insurance paid their portion is unethical. We are trying to work with them and get them paid, but there is a limit as to what families with 3 kids can afford.

Central Emergency Medical Service is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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