Homestead Medicaid spending on ambulance and transport services climbs to $646,633 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Homestead billed $646,633 for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represents a 52.8% increase from 2023, when providers submitted $423,270 in claims for these services.

Medicaid, the public insurance program managed by the states and funded in partnership between federal and state governments, supports low-income individuals and families, seniors, children and people with disabilities, and stands as one of the largest components of the U.S. health system.

Since Medicaid is funded by taxpayers, trends in local billing illustrate how public health care resources are distributed within communities.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” group comprises Medicaid services classified by the type of care provided, based on standardized HCPCS and CPT code sets. For this analysis, individual billing codes were assigned to one service category by using consistent code prefixes and number ranges, ensuring related services are counted together without duplication while enabling accurate historical ranking.

Spending on Medicaid increased in multiple service categories, but Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies took the top spot in Homestead by total payments in 2024.

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

From 2019 to 2024, Medicaid payments for the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category in Homestead grew by $605,482, or 1,471.4%. The rate of growth accelerated at certain points, with significant year-to-year jumps noted in 2021 and 2023.

Although payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies were made citywide, the majority were attributed to a few ZIP codes. In 2024, $646,633 in payments were tied to ZIP code 15120, with this area accounting for 100% of Medicaid payments in this category in Homestead during the year.

Payments in the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category were concentrated among a small set of billing codes.

Medicaid claims for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Homestead increased 52.8% from 2023 to 2024, compared with a 13.5% overall growth rate across all Medicaid claim categories in the city in that period.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports combined federal and state Medicaid spending reached approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, representing about 18% of total national health expenditures and a considerable jump from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This jump translates to nearly 40% growth over a few years, largely due to bigger enrollment numbers and upticks in service use during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget legislation approved under the Trump administration included measures to reduce federal Medicaid support and alter the program structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is set to cut more than $1 trillion in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, introducing policies such as work requirements and increased cost-sharing that may decrease coverage and funding for some recipients. These changes are likely to place more financial responsibility on states and restrict future federal funding growth, while Medicaid continues to cover 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.