Merrill Medicaid payments for ambulance and transport services surge 1628% in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Merrill billed $11,958 for services under the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows. This represents a 1628% jump from 2023, when providers submitted $692 in claims for these services.

Medicaid, a public health insurance initiative administered by states with joint federal funding, serves low-income people, seniors, children, and those with disabilities. It is one of the central components of the U.S. health care system. Additional information about Medicaid’s funding structure can be found from the Commonwealth Fund.

Because taxpayer dollars fund Medicaid payments, local billing shifts illustrate how community health care resources are disbursed.

The Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category includes several Medicaid-billed services identified by specific types of care, determined through established HCPCS and CPT coding groupings. This analysis assigned each billing code to one service category using uniform code prefixes and ranges so related services could be reviewed collectively without double counting, resulting in precise rankings over time.

Multiple Medicaid service categories experienced growth, and Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies ranked second by total Medicaid payments in Merrill for 2024.

Statewide in Oregon, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies was the fifth-highest category by total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Looking at the preceding five years through 2024, Medicaid payments linked to the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category in Merrill grew by $11,958, or 0%. Notable increases were recorded year over year, notably in 2023 and 2022, as changes in spending momentum accelerated.

Although payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in 2024 were distributed throughout Merrill, a few ZIP codes saw the highest concentration. ZIP code 97633, for example, accounted for $11,957 in payments, with the leading ZIP code representing 100% of all Medicaid spending tied to this category.

The majority of Medicaid payments in the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies group were associated with just a few individual billing codes.

Each Medicaid category in Merrill witnessed different rates of payment change: from 2023 to 2024, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies payments rose 1628%, while across all Medicaid service groups the change was 15.1% over the same period.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that federal and state Medicaid outlays together reached around $871.7 billion in the 2023 fiscal year, making up about 18% of national health spending, a sharp rise from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This shift equals about 40% growth in several years, with expanded enrollment and increased usage during the pandemic among the leading drivers.

Federal budget actions under the Trump administration have proposed sizable reductions in federal Medicaid funds and program changes. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion in the coming decade. The bill would incorporate new work requirements and increase cost-sharing, potentially narrowing coverage and federal support for several recipients, while state responsibility could grow even as millions remain covered by Medicaid.

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.