Cuba sees $134,285 in Medicaid spending for ambulance, transport services in 2024

Medicaid providers in Cuba submitted claims totaling $134,285 in the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category during 2024, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database show. This was a 31.4% rise from 2023, when providers sought $102,225 for the same group of services.

Medicaid is a public health insurance program operated at the state level and funded through a partnership of federal and state governments. It serves low-income people and families, seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities, making it one of the largest components of U.S. health coverage.

As Medicaid payments draw from taxpayers, local billing fluctuations help illustrate how a community’s health care dollars are distributed.

The “Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies” designation includes Medicaid-reimbursed services based on standard HCPCS and CPT codes. For this analysis, each code was mapped to a single service group using consistent code prefixes and numbers, so related services could be analyzed together without double counting, ensuring accuracy in yearly comparisons.

While various service categories saw higher Medicaid spending, Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies finished second in Cuba by total Medicaid dollars paid in 2024.

Statewide in Missouri, this category was third by total Medicaid payments during 2024.

From 2019 through 2024, Medicaid spending connected to Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Cuba grew by $9,587, or 7.7%. Periods of rapid annual growth were observed in 2022 and 2023.

Spending in the Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies category reached across Cuba, but payments largely centered in a few ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 65453 accounted for all $134,285 in Medicaid claims related to this service group, representing 100% of the city’s total for the year.

Within the category, Medicaid expenditures were heavily focused on select billing codes.

To compare, Medicaid payments for Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies in Cuba increased by 31.4% from 2023 to 2024, while all Medicaid claim categories in the city increased by 3.7% in the same timeframe.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total state and federal Medicaid expenditures reached approximately $871.7 billion in the 2023 fiscal year, about 18% of national health spending, rising from around $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This roughly 40% growth has mostly been attributed to expanded enrollment and greater service usage since the pandemic began.

Federal budget legislation during the Trump administration brought in major proposals aimed at decreasing federal Medicaid contributions and revising the program’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to trim over $1 trillion from federal Medicaid funding over 10 years and implements new requirements such as work documentation and greater cost-sharing, changes that may shrink funding or coverage for some users. These adjustments could increase state-level budgets and cap the pace of federal Medicaid expansion, though the program still covers tens of 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.