In 2024, Medicaid providers in Wilmington billed $1,675,140 for services categorized under Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows. This represents an increase of 181.6% compared to 2023, when claims for the same services totaled $594,792.
Medicaid is operated by individual states and financed in partnership with the federal and state governments. The program serves low-income families and individuals, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, making it one of the largest elements of the U.S. health care system.
Since Medicaid funds are provided by taxpayers, changes in local billing amounts highlight how public health care resources are distributed in the community.
The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” grouping is based on service type, organized with standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. For this review, each code was included in one service category through consistent code prefixes and numeric ranges, ensuring related services could be tracked over time while eliminating double counting and maintaining category accuracy.
While Medicaid expenditures rose in a range of categories, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies ranked 10th among Medicaid payment categories in Wilmington in 2024.
Statewide in Delaware, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies held the 11th spot for total Medicaid payments in 2024.
Over the five-year period ending in 2024, Medicaid payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Wilmington increased by $44,236, or 2.7%. Spurts in payment growth occurred in certain years, most notably in 2020 and 2021.
The distribution of payments in this service category was spread throughout the city but concentrated heavily in a select group of ZIP codes. In 2024, leading ZIP codes for Medicaid payments tied to this category included 19805 with $1,404,854, 19809 with $117,113, and 19803 with $71,691. Combined, these top 3 ZIP codes accounted for 95.1% of total Medicaid payments in this category for Wilmington that year.
Payments within the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category were also concentrated in a small number of individual billing codes.
For further context, Medicaid payments associated with Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Wilmington climbed 181.6% from 2023 to 2024. In comparison, all Medicaid claim categories in the city rose by 22.9% in the same period.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, federal and state Medicaid outlays were about $871.7 billion for fiscal year 2023, or roughly 18% of national health care spending—a significant increase from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
This rise represents an increase of approximately 40% over a few years, primarily due to expanded enrollment and increased service use around the pandemic period.
Recent congressional budget legislation under the Trump administration has contained major proposals to cut federal Medicaid funding and introduce major program changes. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is projected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. It imposes new policies including work requirements and increased cost-sharing, potentially impacting beneficiary coverage and funding. These adjustments are anticipated to shift a larger financial responsibility to states and slow federal Medicaid fund growth, even as the program’s reach extends to tens of millions in the U.S.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $1,630,904 | 70.8% |
| 2021 | $2,446,733 | 50% |
| 2022 | $2,011,088 | -17.8% |
| 2023 | $594,792 | -70.4% |
| 2024 | $1,675,140 | 181.6% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $62,485,470 | 41.9% |
| 2 | Evaluation and Management | $41,350,534 | 27.7% |
| 3 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $13,387,922 | 9% |
| 4 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $8,042,679 | 5.4% |
| 5 | Procedures / Professional Services | $4,939,287 | 3.3% |
| 6 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $4,853,136 | 3.3% |
| 7 | Dental Services | $4,502,527 | 3% |
| 8 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $2,592,340 | 1.7% |
| 9 | Radiology Procedures | $2,385,397 | 1.6% |
| 10 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $1,675,140 | 1.1% |
| 11 | Surgery | $1,623,433 | 1.1% |
| 12 | Anesthesia | $790,884 | 0.5% |
| 13 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $342,890 | 0.2% |
| 14 | Vision Services | $154,234 | 0.1% |
| 15 | Orthotic Procedures and services | $98,551 | 0.1% |
| 16 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $24,853 | <0.1% |
| 17 | Temporary Codes | $19,946 | <0.1% |
| 18 | Hearing Services | $18,475 | <0.1% |
| 19 | Coronavirus Diagnostic Panel | $4,642 | <0.1% |
| 20 | Outpatient PPS | $4,467 | <0.1% |
| 21 | Chemotherapy Drugs | $4,425 | <0.1% |
| 22 | Durable Medical Equipment | $3,808 | <0.1% |
| 23 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $3,069 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| A0429 | Bls-emergency | $1,564,344 | 67 |
| A0380 | Basic life support mileage | $91,651 | 49 |
| A0425 | Ground mileage | $18,964 | 21 |
| A0428 | Bls | $180 | 1 |
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.
