Bedford sees 77.7% jump in Medicaid payments connected to ambulance and transport services in 2024

Bedford Medicaid providers charged $96,125 for services in the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category during 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This reflects a 77.7% rise from 2023, when providers in the area billed $54,083 for these services.

Medicaid is a public insurance program overseen by states with joint state and federal funding, according to the federal government. The program supports low-income families and individuals, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, making up a substantial portion of the U.S. health care system.

Since Medicaid payments are sourced from taxpayers, fluctuations in local claims reflect how community health dollars are allocated.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” category groups a range of Medicaid-billed services defined by specific types of care and standard HCPCS and CPT coding. Each billing code was directly assigned to one primary service category for comparison, using uniform code prefixes and numeric ranges to combine related services while avoiding duplication and maintaining valid rankings over time.

While several service categories saw increased Medicaid spending, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies held the second-highest spot in Bedford for total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Statewide in Pennsylvania, this category ranked sixth by total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid payments linked to the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category in Bedford climbed by $92,894, an increase of 2875.3%. Accelerated spending growth occurred at several points, particularly between 2021 and 2022.

Although spending was allocated throughout the city for these services, payments primarily originated in a select number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 15522 reported the full $96,125 in Medicaid payments within the category, accounting for all Medicaid payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Bedford that year.

A small subset of individual billing codes collected the majority of Medicaid payments within this category.

When comparing payment growth, Bedford’s 77.7% rise in Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies payments between 2024 and 2023 outpaced the 29.7% year-over-year increase across all Medicaid claim types in the city during the same timeframe.

Data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shows combined state and federal Medicaid expenditures reached approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023. That made up about 18% of all U.S. health spending, sharply higher than the roughly $613.5 billion figure for 2019, before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This surge represents nearly 40% growth over several years, primarily attributed to expanded enrollment and increased service utilization during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal legislation from the Trump administration has included major proposals to cut back federal Medicaid funds and modify how the program operates. As one example, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, intends to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the coming decade and implements measures like work requirements and increased cost-sharing. These changes could limit funding and coverage for some recipients and shift a larger share of costs onto states, placing pressure on future program growth as Medicaid continues serving 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.