Ambulance and other transport Medicaid payments rise 8.1% in Belmont in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Belmont billed $527,477 for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This was an 8.1% increase from $487,822 billed for the same services in 2023.

Medicaid is a public health insurance initiative funded by both federal and state governments and administered at the state level. The program provides coverage for low-income individuals and families, as well as seniors, children, and people with disabilities, representing a major segment of the U.S. health care system.

As Medicaid payments are supported by taxpayer contributions, shifts in local billing demonstrate how health care funds are distributed within a community.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” grouping represents Medicaid-billed services defined by care type, guided by standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. For this review, each billing code was matched to a primary service category through consistent use of code prefixes and ranges. This ensured related services were aggregated accurately and not double counted, maintaining appropriate rankings over time.

Though spending from Medicaid rose in several categories, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies accounted for the largest share of Belmont’s Medicaid payments in 2024.

Statewide in New York, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies held the eighth spot for total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid spending for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Belmont grew by $275,243, an increase of 109.1%. Spending climbed particularly quickly in 2020 and 2021, with notable year-over-year gains during those periods.

Although funds for these services were paid throughout the city, the vast majority were concentrated in just a few ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 14813 represented $527,476 of Medicaid payments in this category, making up 100% of the total for Belmont that year.

Additionally, a small number of individual billing codes made up the bulk of Medicaid payments within the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category.

For context, the category’s 8.1% increase from 2023 to 2024 trailed the 23.2% rise seen across all Medicaid claims in Belmont during the same period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, federal and state Medicaid expenditures approached $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up about 18% of all U.S. health spending. That figure was a marked increase from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This growth, about 40% in just a few years, has largely been attributed to expanded enrollment and greater service usage during and following the pandemic.

Recent federal budget legislation passed during the Trump administration included extensive proposals aimed at reducing federal Medicaid funding and changing program structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to cut over $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending over the coming decade and enacts provisions like work requirements and increased cost-sharing. These changes may lower coverage for some recipients and shift more costs to states, slowing the growth of federal support even as Medicaid continues to cover 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.