Ambulance and transport Medicaid spending in Hurricane surges 65% to $216,420 in 2024

In 2024, Hurricane Medicaid providers billed $216,420 for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This amount represents a 65.4% rise from 2023, when claims for the same category totaled $130,872.

Medicaid, a public health insurance program funded through both state and federal sources, provides coverage for low-income groups, seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities and is among the largest health care funding sources in the country.

Since Medicaid relies on taxpayer dollars, shifts in local claims reflect changes in how public health funding is directed at the community level.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” category groups Medicaid-billed services by type of care based on standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. Billing codes were assigned to one service category using set code ranges and prefixes, ensuring related services are grouped for trend analysis while preventing double counting and supporting accurate rankings over time.

Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies was the top category for Medicaid payments in Hurricane for 2024, even as spending rose in several other service areas.

Statewide, the category ranked fifth for total Medicaid payments in Utah for 2024.

Between 2020 and 2024, Medicaid payments in Hurricane tied to Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies grew by $145,327, or 204.4%. Growth was pronounced during certain intervals, especially in 2023 and 2021, which saw notable annual increases.

Although claims spanned much of the city, Medicaid payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in 2024 were mostly reported in a single ZIP code—84737—which accounted for the total $216,420 in payments. The top ZIP code represented all Medicaid billing in this service category for Hurricane that year.

Most Medicaid payments within the category were linked to a few specific billing codes.

Compared with all Medicaid claim categories in Hurricane, the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies group saw a 65.4% increase between 2024 and 2023, while overall Medicaid claims rose 50.8% for the city in that period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined state and federal Medicaid spending was about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, accounting for 18% of U.S. health expenditures, up from $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This increase, driven by higher enrollment and use during and after the pandemic, represents growth of about 40% in just a few years.

Recent federal budget laws under the Trump administration have proposed major cuts and program restructuring for Medicaid. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is set to reduce federal Medicaid funding by over $1 trillion over the next decade and introduces work requirements and increased cost-sharing—policies that could decrease funding and coverage for some recipients. These measures are projected to shift more costs to the states and slow the expansion of federal Medicaid support, even as program enrollment remains high.

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.