Seattle Medicaid spending on ambulance and transport services climbs 2% in 2024

Seattle Medicaid providers billed a total of $4,396,424 for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in 2024, as reported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This was a 2% uptick from 2023, when claims for the same service category totaled $4,308,482.

Medicaid, a government health insurance program administered by each state and financed jointly at the federal and state levels, provides coverage to people with limited incomes, seniors, children and those with disabilities, making it a key part of the U.S. health care landscape.

Since Medicaid payments are funded by taxpayers, changes in community billing levels indicate how public health care resources are distributed locally.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” category encompasses services billed to Medicaid, defined by standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. In this reporting, each applicable billing code was placed within a single service group using consistent code prefixes and numeric series, enabling an aggregate analysis of related services while avoiding duplication and maintaining accurate rankings year over year.

While Medicaid outlays grew in multiple categories, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies held the 13th spot for total Medicaid payments in Seattle in 2024.

Statewide in Washington, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies was ranked seventh by total Medicaid payments for 2024.

Looking at the five-year period leading up to 2024, Medicaid spending in Seattle’s Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category rose by $2,254,041, or 105.2%. The increase accelerated at certain points, with especially notable gains in both 2023 and 2021.

Spending on ambulance and related services was distributed throughout Seattle but mostly concentrated in a select few ZIP codes. In 2024, payments in ZIP code 98108 totaled $4,363,587 and 98178 accounted for $32,836. Combined, these two ZIP codes represented 100% of all Medicaid payments for this category in Seattle for the year.

Payments within the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies group were also focused around a small set of individual billing codes.

For additional context, Seattle’s Medicaid payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies grew by 2% from 2023 to 2024, while all Medicaid claims in the city grew by 7.9% in the same time frame.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that combined state and federal Medicaid expenses hit approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, making up about 18% of national health spending. That figure rose sharply from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This rise reflects growth of about 40% within just a few years, propelled in large part by expanded enrollment and increased use of services during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget measures under the Trump administration have included major plans to trim federal Medicaid funding and change the program structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is set to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next ten years and implements measures such as work requirements and higher cost-sharing, which could decrease benefits and funding for certain beneficiaries. These adjustments are anticipated to shift a greater financial burden to state governments and temper federal Medicaid growth, even though the program continues to provide for tens of millions across the country.

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.