In 2024, Medicaid providers in Olla billed $29,454 for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies, based on figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Compared with 2023, when claims for this service totaled $14,752, this represented a rise of 99.7%.
Medicaid serves as a public health insurance option managed by each state and funded in partnership between federal and state governments. Coverage applies to low-income groups, elderly individuals, children, and people with disabilities, and it is among the nation’s largest health care programs.
Since Medicaid is financed by taxpayers, any local shifts in billing offer insight into how public health funds are distributed in a particular area.
The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” category includes Medicaid claims for transportation-related services, as determined by standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. Each code was classified under a single service category for this report, using consistent code prefixes and numerical segments to allow comparison while preventing overlap and ensuring precise ranking data across years.
Spending rose across different Medicaid service categories, with Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies ranking seventh for total dollar payments in Olla in 2024.
Statewide in Louisiana, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies ranked fifth in Medicaid payments by category for 2024.
During the five years before 2024, Medicaid payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Olla totaled $29,454—a 0% change, with certain years such as 2023 and 2022 displaying particularly rapid increases.
Although care spending in Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies took place citywide, a small number of ZIP codes saw the largest reimbursements. For 2024, ZIP code 71465 accounted for $29,453 of all Medicaid payments in the category, with the leading ZIP code making up 100% of Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies payments in Olla for the year.
Payments in this category were also focused among only a few specific billing codes.
In comparison, the 99.7% jump in Olla’s Medicaid payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies between 2024 and 2023 exceeded the 31.1% increase seen for all Medicaid claim categories in the city for that period.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that combined federal and state Medicaid expenditure hit about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, representing roughly 18% of the national health spending and a sharp rise from $613.5 billion in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
This increase equates to around 40% growth over several years, largely the result of expanded participation and greater service use during and after the pandemic.
Past federal budget measures signed under the Trump administration have included major initiatives aiming to limit federal Medicaid outlays and rework the program’s overall structure. This included the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which became law in 2025. The act is estimated to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over 10 years and introduces provisions like work requirements and raised cost-sharing, potentially limiting coverage and financial support for some recipients. These policies could increase financial pressure on states and restrict the expansion of federal Medicaid resources, even as the program remains significant.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $627 | -90.1% |
| 2022 | $0 | -100% |
| 2023 | $14,752 | – |
| 2024 | $29,453 | 99.7% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $1,611,414 | 46.5% |
| 2 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $862,420 | 24.9% |
| 3 | Evaluation and Management | $462,370 | 13.3% |
| 4 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $281,933 | 8.1% |
| 5 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $116,976 | 3.4% |
| 6 | Radiology Procedures | $60,528 | 1.7% |
| 7 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $29,453 | 0.8% |
| 8 | Surgery | $16,193 | 0.5% |
| 9 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $11,675 | 0.3% |
| 10 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $9,658 | 0.3% |
| 11 | Anesthesia | $3,172 | 0.1% |
| 12 | Temporary Codes | $260 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| A0427 | Als1-emergency | $20,576 | 5 |
| A0425 | Ground mileage | $8,877 | 2 |
Note: HCPCS codes are presented to provide context on service groupings. The total amounts and rankings in this article are based on these standardized service categories, not individual codes.
The information provided here is sourced from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. You can find the original source data here.
