Slocomb Medicaid spending on ambulance, transport services jumps 78.9% in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Slocomb billed $53,463 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 78.9% rise from 2023, when claims in this category totaled $29,891.

Medicaid is a public health insurance program managed by the states and funded jointly by federal and state governments. It provides coverage for low-income families and individuals, children, seniors, and people with disabilities, and is one of the largest components of the U.S. health care system.

As Medicaid payments are sourced from taxpayers, changes in local billing levels reflect how public health care resources are distributed within a community.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” group includes Medicaid-billed services categorized by the type of care based on standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. This analysis assigns each billing code to one service category using uniform code prefixes and numeric ranges, enabling aggregate review of related services while preventing double counting and maintaining consistent rankings over time.

Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies was the leading Medicaid payment category in Slocomb for 2024, amid overall spending increases across several categories.

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

Between 2020 and 2024, Medicaid payments for the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies group in Slocomb rose by $39,331, or 278.3%. Growth picked up especially during certain years, with notable annual increases in both 2022 and 2022.

Although these payments were distributed throughout the city, most were concentrated in a few ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 36375 accounted for $53,463, making up 100% of Medicaid payments for this category in Slocomb during the year.

Within this service group, Medicaid payments were also largely tied to a limited set of specific billing codes.

Comparing 2024 to 2023, Slocomb’s Medicaid payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies increased by 78.9%, the same percentage growth seen across all Medicaid claim categories in the city in this period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, joint federal and state Medicaid expenditures totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023—about 18% of all national health spending— up significantly from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This upturn signals nearly 40% growth within a few years, driven primarily by expanded program enrollment and greater usage during and after the pandemic period.

Federal budget legislation passed during the Trump administration includes major proposals to reduce federal Medicaid funding and structure the program differently. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to cut more than $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending over the next 10 years, introducing measures like work requirements and increased cost-sharing that may lessen coverage and funding for some. States are projected to shoulder more program costs as federal support growth slows, even as Medicaid continues serving millions nationwide.

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.