Ambulance and transport Medicaid billing in Spencer rises to $337,684 in 2024

Medicaid providers in Spencer recorded $337,684 in bills for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in 2024, based on figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This was an increase of 4.5% compared with 2023, when claims for the same types of services reached $323,287.

Medicaid, a state-administered health insurance program funded in partnership with federal and state governments, provides coverage for low-income people and families, seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities, making it a significant part of the U.S. health care system.

Since taxpayer funding supports Medicaid payments, shifts in local billing provide insight into the distribution of public health care dollars in each area.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” group includes services billed to Medicaid as determined by care type and standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. For reporting, each code was sorted into a single category using consistent prefixes and number ranges, allowing for the examination of similar services together and preventing duplicate counts for rankings over time.

While Medicaid spending went up across a variety of services, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies was the fourth-highest category in Spencer by total Medicaid payments for 2024.

Statewide, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies placed seventh in total Medicaid payments in West Virginia during 2024.

Medicaid payments associated with Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Spencer climbed by $82,604, or 32.4%, over the five years prior to 2024. Parts of that period saw faster increases, particularly year over year in 2022 and 2023.

Most spending in this category was reported from a limited set of ZIP codes in the city. The highest Medicaid payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in 2024 were in ZIP code 25276, accounting for $337,683. Altogether, the top 1 ZIP code represented 100% of all Medicaid payments for this category in Spencer that year.

Among the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category, most Medicaid funds were tied to only a few individual billing codes.

For comparison, the 4.5% growth in Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies Medicaid payments in Spencer between 2024 and 2023 contrasts with a 22.5% change across all Medicaid claim categories during the same timeframe.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total federal and state Medicaid spending was about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, or roughly 18% of the nation’s health care expenditures, a significant rise from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This surge marks an increase of about 40% within a few years, mainly attributed to greater enrollment and increased use during and after the pandemic years.

Legislation in recent federal budgets under the Trump administration put forward substantial proposals to decrease federal Medicaid funding and adjust the program. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is anticipated to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion over 10 years and implement measures such as work requirements and higher cost-sharing, which could decrease access or funds for certain recipients. These reforms are expected to shift further costs to state governments and curb the rise of federal Medicaid contributions, even as the program continues to cover tens of millions of Americans.

Note: HCPCS codes are shown for context within the category. Category totals and rankings in this article are based on standardized service groupings rather than individual billing codes.

Information in this article was obtained from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The source data can be found here.