Del Norte Medicaid ambulance, transport claims rise to $120,844 in 2024

In 2024, providers in Del Norte billed a total of $120,844 to Medicaid for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies, as shown in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending dataset. This was up 119.7% from $54,998 in 2023 for the same service category.

Medicaid is a government insurance initiative managed by states and financed jointly by state and federal governments. It provides coverage for people with low incomes, including families, older adults, children, and people with disabilities, and represents one of the largest portions of U.S. health care spending.

Since Medicaid expenses are paid through taxpayer funds, changes in local service claims illustrate how a community’s public health dollars are spent.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” grouping contains Medicaid-claimed services as defined by service provided and standardized by specific HCPCS and CPT code sets. For this review, each billing code was assigned to only one service group through consistent code prefixes and number ranges, ensuring relevant services are grouped accurately, claims are not double-counted, and categorical trends can be properly tracked.

Medicaid spending showed increases in several service groupings, and in 2024, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies was the second largest in Del Norte based on payment amount.

Statewide in Colorado, in 2024, the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies sector also ranked second overall by Medicaid expenditures.

In the five years preceding 2024, Medicaid payments in Del Norte for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies rose by $119,291, a growth of 49.7%. Notably strong spending growth happened in select years, with significant year-over-year increases seen in both 2023 and 2020.

Spending for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies was recorded throughout Del Norte, but payment activity was mainly centered in a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 81132 recorded all $120,844 of Medicaid payments for this category, making this ZIP the citywide total for the year.

A further concentration of Medicaid payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies was observed at the level of individual billing codes.

Between 2024 and 2023, Del Norte saw a 119.7% jump in Medicaid payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies, notably contrasting with the 24.9% change across all city Medicaid claim sectors during the same interval.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined state and federal Medicaid disbursements reached approximately $871.7 billion for fiscal 2023, equal to nearly 18% of total U.S. health outlays, an increase from about $613.5 billion in 2019 prior to the pandemic.

This represents a growth of about 40% in only a few years, mainly driven by greater Medicaid enrollment and service utilization during and since the pandemic period.

Recent federal budget measures signed under the Trump administration proposed major cuts and structural reforms to Medicaid. A notable example is the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” ratified in 2025, which is anticipated to decrease federal Medicaid funding by more than $1 trillion over 10 years, introducing policies like work requirements and larger cost-sharing that could reduce funding and coverage for segments of the population. These provisions are likely to increase financial responsibility for states while limiting congressional Medicaid funding growth, even as millions continue to rely on the program.

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.