Medicaid spending on ambulance and transport services jumps 171.7% in Brookhaven in 2024

Providers in Brookhaven billed a total of $283,586 to Medicaid in 2024 for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represented a 171.7% increase over the $104,356 in claims submitted for the same category in 2023.

Medicaid is a public health insurance initiative operated by states with joint federal and state funding, as noted by the Commonwealth Fund. It provides coverage for low-income families and individuals, children, seniors, and people with disabilities, making it a cornerstone of the nation’s health system.

Because Medicaid funding comes from taxpayers, adjustments in local billing highlight how community health care resources are directed.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” category encompasses a range of services billed to Medicaid, determined by the standardized HCPCS and CPT code sets. Each code was assigned to a single service category for this analysis by using uniform code groupings and ranges, ensuring that related codes could be grouped together without duplication and maintaining the integrity of service rankings.

Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies received the largest share of Medicaid payments in Brookhaven among all categories in 2024.

Across Pennsylvania, this category ranked sixth for total Medicaid payments during 2024.

From 2019 through 2024, Medicaid spending for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Brookhaven grew by $276,904, or 4,144.1%. The most significant increases occurred in 2021 and 2023, signaling periods of accelerated spending.

Spending for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies was distributed throughout Brookhaven but was notably concentrated within a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 19015 saw Medicaid payments reach $283,586, accounting for the entirety of spending in this category for the city that year.

Payments within this category were also highly concentrated among a few specific billing codes.

Comparatively, the 171.7% increase in Brookhaven’s Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies Medicaid payments between 2024 and 2023 was set against a broader 233.9% jump for all Medicaid claim categories locally during the same time frame.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid expenditures reached about $871.7 billion in the 2023 fiscal year, which was roughly 18% of all national health care spending. That’s up from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This approximately 40% rise over a few years was largely fueled by increased enrollment and greater use of services following the start of the pandemic.

Recent federal legislation during the Trump administration included significant proposals to scale back Medicaid funding at the federal level and modify the program’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is projected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion in the decade ahead. It also introduces policy changes like work requirements and added cost-sharing, which could result in decreased coverage and funding for some enrollees. These alterations are expected to increase state responsibility for costs while restricting federal Medicaid growth, even as the program continues to cover tens of 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.