Price gouging laws and medical transportation: what you can charge during a declared emergency

A price gouging law limits what a ride company can charge its own private-pay riders and facility customers once a governor or the President declares an emergency. It does not touch Medicaid and broker trips, which are paid at the program or contract rate. If you run any private-pay or facility work, the fuel surcharge guide and the emergency preparedness plan already cover most of the groundwork. This page covers what the laws say, and how a surcharge or an emergency rate stays within them.

The National Conference of State Legislatures counted 39 states and the District of Columbia with statutes or regulations that define price gouging in a disaster or emergency, in a summary updated January 21, 2025. The six states below show the main designs: a fixed 10 percent cap, a standard of unconscionable pricing, and laws that switch on only when the governor’s order says so.

Which prices does a price gouging law cover?

It covers prices you control. A Medicaid or broker trip is paid at the rate in the fee schedule or contract, and under 42 CFR 447.15 the provider accepts that payment, plus any required copay, as payment in full. The prices left are the ones you set yourself: a private-pay fare, a facility rate, a fuel surcharge, and a charge for a run you were asked to make because of the emergency.

Fuel is the case most operators will meet in 2026. EIA’s October 6, 2026 release put U.S. regular gasoline at $4.354 a gallon for October 5, which is $1.230 above a year earlier, and on-highway diesel at $6.199, which is $2.488 above. Georgia’s governor issued Executive Order 09.28.26.01 on September 28, 2026, declaring a state of emergency over petroleum supply disruptions, effective September 29. On October 6, 2026 he extended the emergency and the fuel tax suspension to 11:59 p.m. on November 5, 2026 (Executive Order 10.06.26.01), so check the Attorney General’s page for the current end date. The Georgia Attorney General’s office says the order prohibits price gouging for goods and services necessary to respond to the emergency, including motor and diesel fuel.

How do California and New Jersey cap increases at 10 percent?

Both states bar a price more than 10 percent above what you charged just before the declaration, unless your costs rose.

• California. Penal Code section 396(b) runs for 30 days after the proclamation of a state of emergency by the President or the Governor, or a local emergency declaration. A greater increase is lawful if you can prove it comes from added costs from your supplier or added costs of labor or materials, and the price is no more than 10 percent above your cost plus the markup you usually apply. If you charged no price before the declaration, the price may not be more than 50 percent above your cost. A violation is a misdemeanor, with up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $10,000, and an unfair business practice. The covered list names “transportation, freight, and storage services,” but the statute defines that phrase as services that move, store or transport personal or business property, and it does not name passenger rides. It does name gasoline and other motor fuels, and it says it is to be construed liberally, so keep the cost records described below.
• New Jersey. Section 56:8-109 makes it an unlawful practice to sell merchandise at an excessive price if it is consumed or used as a direct result of an emergency, or to preserve life, health, safety or comfort. The ban runs 30 days after the declaration, or another period the Governor sets, and the Governor may extend it. Section 56:8-1 defines merchandise to include services. An excessive price is more than 10 percent over your pre-emergency price, unless it comes from added costs, in which case the markup over cost may not rise more than 10 percent above your usual markup. Penalties under section 56:8-13 run to $10,000 for a first offense and $20,000 for later ones.

How do Florida, New York and Georgia work without a fixed percentage?

They test whether the price is unconscionable, or they freeze it near the old level, so a documented cost increase is your defense.

• Florida. Section 501.160 covers any “commodity,” defined to include services, once the Governor declares a state of emergency. A price is prima facie unconscionable if it shows a gross disparity from the average price in the 30 days before the declaration, or grossly exceeds the price of the same or similar goods or services in the trade area. Added costs or market trends can explain it. The prohibition lasts up to 60 days under the initial declaration, and the Governor can extend it by an order that names the section. The Department of Legal Affairs or a state attorney enforces it, with no private lawsuit. A person who offers goods or services to the public during the emergency without a local business tax receipt commits a second-degree misdemeanor.
• New York. General Business Law 396-r bars an “unconscionably excessive price” for goods and services vital to health, safety and welfare during an abnormal disruption of the market that leads the governor to declare a state of emergency. It names essential medical supplies and services. There is no percentage. A defendant may show that the higher price preserves the margin it earned before, or that added costs outside its control were imposed. The Attorney General can seek a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per violation or three times the gross receipts for the goods or services, whichever is greater.
• Georgia. The state’s law works only after two steps: the Governor declares a state of emergency, and the order specifically says prices for a service or product are subject to price control. It then bars selling goods or services the Governor identifies, at retail, above the pre-emergency price. An increase is allowed only if it reflects the cost of new stock or of transporting it, plus the seller’s average markup in the ten days before the declaration. The law applies as long as the state of emergency exists (O.C.G.A. 10-1-393.4).

What does Texas treat as price gouging?

In Texas, taking advantage of a disaster the governor or President has declared by selling or leasing fuel, food, medicine, lodging or “another necessity” at an exorbitant or excessive price is a deceptive trade practice (Business and Commerce Code 17.46(b)(27)). Section 17.4625 sets the period: it begins on the earliest of the date the disaster occurs, the date of the governor’s proclamation or the President’s declaration, and it ends on the 30th day after the declaration expires or is terminated. Governor Abbott issued a statewide disaster proclamation over diesel on September 28, 2026, which starts the period described in section 17.4625.

How can a fuel surcharge or emergency rate stay legal?

Tie every increase to a cost you can document, and write the rule down before the season. The laws above all compare your price to a date before the declaration and let added costs explain a rise, so the paper trail is the defense.

1. Keep a dated rate sheet. California, New Jersey and Florida compare your price to the one in effect just before the declaration, or to the 30 days before it. Save each version of your private-pay and facility rates with its date.
2. Use a public index, not your own judgment. A surcharge that follows a weekly published price, with a base price and step written in the contract, is easier to defend than one raised by hand. The fuel surcharge guide shows the formula.
3. Keep the cost records. Save fuel receipts, fuel card statements and any added driver pay for the run. California and New Jersey let you exceed 10 percent only by showing the added cost.
4. Do not invent a new price list after the declaration. California caps a seller with no pre-declaration price at 50 percent above cost, which is a ceiling, not a target.
5. Quote in writing. An emergency run, such as an evacuation for a facility, goes on a written quote with the rate, the miles or hours it assumes and the date.

An example shows the arithmetic. A company’s private-pay rate sheet dated August 1 says $45 base plus $3 a mile. Under a 10 percent cap such as New Jersey’s, the most it can charge in the first 30 days after a declaration without proving higher costs is $49.50 plus $3.30 a mile. Charging $52 plus $3.60 a mile is lawful only if fuel receipts and driver pay show the extra cost, and even then the markup over cost cannot rise more than 10 percent above the company’s usual markup.

What should contracts and quotes say before the next storm?

State the adjustment before the emergency, so it is a term of the agreement and not a surprise. A facility contract can name the fuel index, the base price, the step, and how often the rate resets. A private-pay quote can show the total price and the date the rates took effect. Rides that are part of a facility evacuation plan should have a written rate and a named person at the facility who approves it, agreed ahead of the season. The all-in pricing guide covers which fees a total price has to include.

Recording the cost behind each rate in HealthRide

A defensible price starts with records, so keep the miles and the rates in one place. HealthRide’s invoicing prices each trip from your rate schedules, the driver app saves GPS-recorded miles and trip times, and the trip log in reports exports to CSV or PDF, so you can show what a run cost and what you charged for it.