Merrimack logs $46,028 in 2024 Medicaid spending for ambulance and transport services

Medicaid providers in Merrimack reported $46,028 in claims for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in 2024, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows. That amount is a 17.3% increase from the $39,236 billed for the same services in 2023.

Medicaid, a public insurance program managed at the state level with joint state and federal funding , serves a range of low-income people, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, making it one of the country’s largest health care programs.

Since Medicaid relies on taxpayer funding, adjustments in local payment amounts highlight shifts in how government health care dollars are used in a given area.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” segment groups together Medicaid-billed services based on care type, structured through standard HCPCS and CPT code systems. Each code was placed in a single category for this review using defined numeric ranges and prefixes, ensuring no overlap and maintaining consistency for year-to-year comparisons.

Spending on several Medicaid service categories grew during the period, with Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies ranking fifth by total Medicaid payments within Merrimack in 2024.

The Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category placed ninth among service types statewide in New Hampshire by payment amount for 2024.

Between 2019 and 2024, Merrimack saw a $4,014 increase—equal to 9.6%—in Medicaid payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies. Spending escalated particularly during some recent years, with noteworthy annual gains in both 2023 and 2022.

While payments for this service group took place across Merrimack, the majority originated in select ZIP codes. In 2024, Medicaid claims tied to this category totaled $46,028 for ZIP code 03054, comprising 100% of the city’s total Medicaid payments for the category during the year.

Medicaid spending within this segment also focused on a small selection of billing codes.

Comparatively, payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Merrimack climbed by 17.3% from 2023 to 2024, while all Medicaid service categories in the city rose by 6.4% over the same timeframe.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, nationwide Medicaid spending from federal and state sources totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, making up around 18% of overall national health care costs. This is up from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

This jump reflects a nearly 40% increase in spending, mostly caused by greater enrollment and increased service use during and after the pandemic years.

Recent congressional budgets signed during the Trump administration have featured significant initiatives to reduce federal Medicaid contributions and modify the program. For example, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is anticipated to lower federal Medicaid expenditures by over $1 trillion through the next 10 years and to implement policies like work mandates and higher cost-sharing. These measures may decrease funding and coverage for some recipients, shift extra costs to states, and place restraints on the expansion of federal Medicaid assistance, all while continuing to insure 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.