Star City sees 23.4% rise in Medicaid spending for ambulance, transport services in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Star City billed a total of $10,441 for services categorized as Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies, based on records from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This amount represents a 23.4% uptick compared to the prior year, when $8,463 in claims were reported for the same category.

Medicaid, a public health insurance initiative managed by the states and funded jointly by federal and state governments, provides coverage to low-income residents, older adults, children and people with disabilities, making it one of the nation’s largest health care programs.

Because Medicaid payments come from taxpayers, shifts in local billing patterns highlight how public health funds are distributed within a community.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” category covers a range of Medicaid-billed services, classified by type of care using standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. Consistent code prefixes and numeric assignments were used in this analysis to group similar services, prevent repeated counts and ensure accurate long-term rankings.

Although overall Medicaid outlays increased across several categories, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies ranked second in Star City for total payments in 2024.

Statewide, the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category was the seventh highest by Medicaid payments in West Virginia in 2024.

During the five-year span ending in 2024, Medicaid spending for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Star City rose by $138,766—an increase of 93%. Spending accelerated in certain periods, with significant year-over-year growth visible in 2023 and 2022.

Though spending on Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies was spread among different areas, most Medicaid payments in 2024 occurred in a small number of ZIP codes. That year, ZIP code 26505 received the full $10,441 in Medicaid reimbursements for these services, making up 100% of related citywide payments.

Payments within the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category were also concentrated among a few key billing codes.

For further comparison, Medicaid payments for the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category in Star City grew by 23.4% from 2023 to 2024. This is higher than the 11.8% increase across all Medicaid claim categories in the city during the same period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid expenditures totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, representing approximately 18% of all U.S. health care spending, a sharp rise from $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

This roughly 40% increase over a few years was primarily spurred by growth in program enrollment and higher utilization during and after the pandemic era.

Recent congressional budget measures under the Trump administration have featured major plans to reduce federal contributions to Medicaid and alter its structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to curtail federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years. It introduces new policies such as work requirements and higher cost-sharing that may limit coverage and funding for some participants, shifting greater expenses to states even as Medicaid serves tens of millions across the country.

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.