Ambulance Services NAICS 621910

May 6, 2025 - Services may Lose Federal Funding Due To Budgeting Process

• A Pennsylvania emergency services training facility is on hold after tens of millions of federal dollars for community projects were halted with the US Congress’ passage of a continuing resolution to keep the government from shutting down in mid-March. Pending emergency service projects may be on hold in many states due to stoppage of federal funding. The traditional federal budget process would normally have included earmarks for community project funds to be distributed, but because a government shutdown was pending, the traditional process was bypassed and the funds weren’t distributed. Centre County, PA, EMS officials plan to re-file the $2.1 million grant application again in 2026.
• Staffing shortages and reimbursement prices for ambulance transports are negatively impacting ambulances services, according to The Jamestown Sun. “We've got a reimbursement issue, which means we have a revenue issue, which means we have an employee issue,” said Andrew Berkey, operations manager for Jamestown (North Dakota) Area Ambulance. The cost of operating an ambulance service has increased 66% over the last decade but reimbursement over that same period has increased 12%, according to Adam Parker, who advocates for ambulance services across the state. A recent federal study shows that the average cost of an ambulance transport is about $2,670 while the average reimbursement for that was about $1,140, according to Parker. “We only get paid for transport in most scenarios,” Parker said. “So if we respond to somebody who called 911 and we don't transport them, many insurance providers don't reimburse for that call.”

• Medicare payments to Medicare Advantage plans are expected to increase an average of 3.7%, or over $16 billion in 2025, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare Advantage plans cover emergency ambulance services, according to AARP. The finalized the Calendar Year 2025 Rate Announcement for Medicare Advantage is projected to result in payments of between $500 and $600 billion in Medicare Advantage payments in 2025.
• Ambulance service industry employment decreased slightly and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first month of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ambulance service industry sales are forecast to increase at a 5.76% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.