Medicaid payments for ambulance and transport services surge 89.3% in Effort in 2024

Effort Medicaid providers billed $2,651,392 in 2024 under the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category, based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represented an 89.3% rise compared with 2023, when claims for these services totaled $1,400,833.

Medicaid is a state-administered public health insurance program funded jointly by federal and state governments. It provides coverage for low-income groups, including families, seniors, children and people with disabilities, making it a major segment of the U.S. health care system.

As Medicaid funding is generated from taxpayer sources, local variations in billing reflect how a community allocates public health care funds.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” category encompasses Medicaid-claimed services identified by care type, determined through standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. In this analysis, billing codes were assigned to designated service categories using stable prefixes and code ranges, keeping closely related services together and ensuring accurate counts and rankings over time.

Payments to Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies led all Medicaid service categories in Effort by total value in 2024, reflecting increased focus and utilization.

Statewide in Pennsylvania, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies ranked sixth among Medicaid service categories by total payments in 2024.

Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid payments connected to Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Effort grew by $2,633,044, or 14,350.6%. The rate of increase was sharpest in certain years, especially in 2021 and 2022, when notable annual growth was recorded.

Spending for ambulance and transport services was spread across the city, but the bulk of 2024 Medicaid payments were concentrated in a small set of ZIP codes. ZIP code 18330 saw the highest Medicaid payments in this category at $2,651,392. This single ZIP code represented 100% of all such payments in Effort for the year.

Within the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category, most Medicaid payments were focused on a few main billing codes.

To compare, the 89.3% jump in Effort for ambulance and transport-related Medicaid payments between 2024 and 2023 was notably higher than the 33.8% overall change observed across all Medicaid claim types in the city during the same period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid spending reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023—approximately 18% of the nation’s total health expenditures—up significantly from a level of $613.5 billion in 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This represents about 40% growth in just several years, fueled mainly by enrollment expansion and greater service use throughout and after the pandemic era.

Recent federal budget actions under the Trump administration have featured major proposals to reduce federal Medicaid support and overhaul the program. Notably, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is projected to reduce federal Medicaid outlays by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. The law introduces measures such as work requirements and increased cost-sharing that may reduce benefits and funding for some recipients. As a result, these policy changes are expected to increase fiscal responsibility for states and limit future expansion of federal Medicaid contributions, while the program continues to serve millions nationwide.

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.