Stretcher Transportation in Washington, DC

How a DC stretcher trip works

This is for patients who can’t sit up safely for the length of the ride. The crew brings a power-assisted Stryker cot to the bedside, both of them move the patient onto it, and it rides flat or reclined; at the destination they move the patient into the bed or chair instead of leaving them on the cot.

Our crews complete NEMTAC’s Certified Stretcher Operator course and pass a criminal background check and a drug screen, and H&M Transport was the first NEMT provider in Virginia accredited by NEMTAC. No medical care is given on board, which is why a stretcher van costs much less than an ambulance and can be scheduled ahead.

DC hospitals and discharges

Most of our DC stretcher discharges begin at MedStar Washington Hospital Center on Irving Street NW, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital on Reservoir Road, George Washington University Hospital in Foggy Bottom, Sibley Memorial Hospital on Loughboro Road, Howard University Hospital on Georgia Avenue, and Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health in Ward 8, which opened in April 2025 and replaced United Medical Center. Tell us the unit and the crew goes to the room.

Discharge planners get a three-hour maximum lead time, and changes or cancellations are free more than two hours before pickup. We run scheduled transfers between facilities once a patient is stable; a move to another hospital for a higher level of care is an ambulance trip.

Rehab, long-term care and hospice

Stable transfers out of acute care are a large part of our DC stretcher work: to MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital on Irving Street, to BridgePoint’s long-term care hospitals on Capitol Hill and on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SW, and to skilled nursing facilities across the District, including Unique Rehabilitation & Health Center, Washington Center for Aging Services, Carroll Manor, Stoddard Baptist and Capitol City Rehab & Healthcare Center. We also run hospice discharges home.

For dialysis riders who can no longer manage a chair, we run standing stretcher schedules to centers in every quadrant.

Stretcher transportation prices in Washington

DC stretcher fares come from the same 2026 private-pay card we use everywhere: a pick-up fee for the van and two crew members, and the miles.

MedStar Washington Hospital Center to a rowhouse near Eastern Market is about four miles, so a discharge home is $260 plus $16, or $276. A transfer from GW Hospital to BridgePoint’s Capitol Hill hospital is also about four miles, $276. Going home to Alexandria from Irving Street, about 11 miles, is $304.

Extras, always priced first: the stair team at $75 each way, $50 for a pickup before 7am or after 6pm, $100 an hour of waiting, $30 for a second stop, $35 per 2-liter oxygen tank, and 3% on cards. The full card is on our rates page.

MetroAccess, rideshare and patients on a cot

MetroAccess and the District’s other ride programs carry riders who travel seated or in a wheelchair, and a rideshare needs a passenger who can get in alone. A patient who must lie down needs a stretcher van, or an ambulance if they need care on the way, so most of our DC stretcher work comes from discharge planners, skilled nursing staff and hospice teams.

Rowhouses, apartment buildings and DC streets

• Rowhouses. Many have steps up from the sidewalk and a narrow stair inside. Give us the count and whether the stairway turns, and the stair team is part of the trip.
• Apartment buildings. The cot goes in through the loading or garage entrance and up in a service elevator big enough for it. Tell us both, and anything the front desk needs.
• Stopping room. The crew needs a safe spot to stop while the cot is loaded; an alley, a driveway or a loading zone makes it easier.
• Oxygen. Include the flow rate in the booking.

Paying for a DC stretcher ride

DC Medicaid. The one DC Medicaid plan we serve is UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of the District of Columbia, through SafeRide Health; members book through the plan and request H&M Transport by name. Members of other DC Medicaid plans arrange rides through the transportation number on their ID card. We are not a Medicaid provider in Maryland. Outside Medicaid, a health plan whose ride benefit SafeRide Health administers can book us in Montgomery, Prince George’s and DC: go through the plan and request H&M Transport by name.

Medicare. Original Medicare doesn’t pay for a stretcher van; it covers an ambulance when one is medically necessary and documented. If a Medicare Advantage plan’s ride benefit is run by SafeRide Health, book through the plan and ask for H&M Transport by name.

Private pay and facilities. Families booking directly pay the published card, with no doctor’s order. Hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and hospices book on contracted rates; see our facilities page.

Booking a DC stretcher trip

Same-day trips and discharges are booked by phone at (703) 304-7889, with three hours’ notice at minimum; we cover most requests inside that. A booking a day ahead is guaranteed, and we confirm every booking by call or text within two hours.

Tell us the hospital and unit, the destination, the patient’s weight, any oxygen and its flow rate, and the steps at the house and whether the stair turns. The stair team adds $75 each way, and patients over 300 lbs need bariatric service and the reinforced cot.

Changes and cancellations are free more than two hours before pickup; later, or a no-show, costs $50. Phone, email Reservations@hmtransport.com or use our app.

Stretcher transportation in Washington: common questions

What does a stretcher discharge from MedStar Washington Hospital Center to Capitol Hill cost?

About $276. Capitol Hill is roughly four miles from Irving Street: $260 to start and $16 in mileage. Round trips are billed per leg at $230, which covers the first five miles of each leg.

Do you take stretcher discharges from DC hospitals?

Yes, from MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Georgetown, GW, Sibley, Howard and Cedar Hill. Give us the unit and three hours’ notice, and the crew comes up to the room.

Can you bring a patient home to Virginia or Maryland from a DC hospital?

Yes. WMATC authority 3449 covers trips from DC to Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, the Virginia end runs under our Virginia DMV Certificate #524, and the rate doesn’t change.

Does DC Medicaid cover stretcher rides with H&M Transport?

Only for members of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of the District of Columbia, who book through the plan, via SafeRide Health, and ask for H&M Transport. Members of other DC Medicaid plans use the transportation number on their ID card.

Do you move patients from the hospital to rehab or long-term care?

Yes, as a scheduled transfer once the patient is stable, to MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital, a BridgePoint hospital or a skilled nursing facility. A move to another hospital for a higher level of care goes by ambulance.

Why is there a two-person crew on every stretcher trip?

Moving an adult from a bed to a cot, down rowhouse steps and back into a bed takes two people to do safely.

Stretcher van or ambulance?

A stretcher van carries a stable patient lying down, without medical care or monitoring. We don’t go to emergency rooms or move patients to another hospital for a higher level of care; scheduled transfers between facilities are routine for us. If this is a medical emergency, call 911. If a rider becomes unwell, the driver stops safely and calls 911.

More from H&M Transport near Washington

Washington DC: all medical transportation · Wheelchair transportation in Washington DC · Stretcher transportation across the DC region · Stretcher transportation in Silver Spring · Stretcher transportation in Arlington · Hospice discharge