Champaign providers billed $9,405,134 to Medicaid in 2024 under the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending data show. This reflected a 64.4% jump from the $5,721,875 in claims documented for the same category in 2023.
Medicaid, funded jointly by state and federal governments, is a public insurance program that covers low-income people, seniors, children, and those with disabilities. That makes it a core part of the U.S. health care sector. More information is available from the Commonwealth Fund.
As taxpayer-funded spending, fluctuations in local Medicaid billing signal how public health care spending is spread throughout the community.
The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” category groups Medicaid-billed services by treatment type using set HCPCS and CPT code ranges. To support this reporting, each billing code fell into a single service category aligned to clear code groupings, preventing duplicate counts and ensuring accurate year-to-year comparisons.
Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies led all other categories by the amount of Medicaid spending in Champaign in 2024, even as spending grew in several areas.
On a state level in Illinois for 2024, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies was the second-highest Medicaid category by total payments.
From 2019 through 2024, Medicaid outlays on Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Champaign went up by $6,599,646, or 235.2%. Notably, the rate of spending growth increased in specific periods, especially in both 2022 and 2021 with substantial year-over-year gains.
While services were provided throughout Champaign, Medicaid payments in this category were mostly focused in a small group of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 61820 accounted for $9,405,133, with the top ZIP code making up 100% of Medicaid payments tied to this category within the city for the year.
Payments in the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies group were also concentrated in a few primary billing codes.
For contrast, the 64.4% jump in Champaign’s ambulance and transport Medicaid claims between 2024 and 2023 far exceeded the 16.5% increase recorded across all Medicaid claim groups citywide over the same timeframe.
CMS data report that combined state and federal Medicaid outlays reached approximately $871.7 billion during fiscal 2023. Medicaid made up about 18% of all U.S. health expenditures, up from around $613.5 billion in 2019, before the pandemic.
This reflects an increase of about 40% over several years, mainly attributed to enrollment growth and greater utilization during and after the COVID-19 emergency.
Recent federal budget laws passed under the Trump administration featured major proposals aimed at reducing federal Medicaid spending and program shifts. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is anticipated to lower federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion over 10 years while adding work requirements and increased cost-sharing. These policy changes are expected to lead to reduced coverage and funding for certain recipients, with more costs likely to shift to states and limits set on federal support despite continued Medicaid demand.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $2,805,487 | 2.8% |
| 2021 | $3,840,180 | 36.9% |
| 2022 | $5,624,264 | 46.5% |
| 2023 | $5,721,874 | 1.7% |
| 2024 | $9,405,133 | 64.4% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $9,405,133 | 49.7% |
| 2 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $3,302,351 | 17.5% |
| 3 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $2,557,895 | 13.5% |
| 4 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $837,924 | 4.4% |
| 5 | Procedures / Professional Services | $731,541 | 3.9% |
| 6 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $651,104 | 3.4% |
| 7 | Durable Medical Equipment | $577,372 | 3.1% |
| 8 | Dental Services | $565,816 | 3% |
| 9 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $172,946 | 0.9% |
| 10 | Durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) | $85,257 | 0.5% |
| 11 | Evaluation and Management | $18,850 | 0.1% |
| 12 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $1,391 | <0.1% |
| 13 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $924 | <0.1% |
| 14 | Orthotic Procedures and services | $817 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| A0429 | Bls-emergency | $4,061,840 | 24 |
| A0427 | Als1-emergency | $3,317,438 | 24 |
| A0425 | Ground mileage | $1,506,002 | 24 |
| A0428 | Bls | $380,180 | 22 |
| A0434 | Specialty care transport | $70,810 | 8 |
| A0426 | Als 1 | $48,418 | 10 |
| A0422 | Ambulance 02 life sustaining | $20,443 | 24 |
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.
