Cost analysis for CPT A0435 — Fixed wing air mileage, per statute mile
Average Medicare Payment
$11.37
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$31.7M
Services (2023)
2.8M
Price Change (2014–2023)
+27.6%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $8.91 | $18.9M | 2.0M | — |
| 2015 | $8.93 | $22.0M | 2.3M | +0.2% |
| 2016 | $8.82 | $22.6M | 2.4M | -1.2% |
| 2017 | $9.20 | $23.6M | 2.5M | +4.3% |
| 2018 | $9.24 | $26.4M | 2.8M | +0.4% |
| 2019 | $9.50 | $27.6M | 2.8M | +2.8% |
| 2020 | $9.83 | $28.6M | 2.9M | +3.5% |
| 2021 | $10.12 | $32.0M | 3.1M | +3.0% |
| 2022 | $10.53 | $32.0M | 3.0M | +4.1% |
| 2023 | $11.37 | $31.7M | 2.8M | +8.0% |
The most expensive state pays 1.4x more than the cheapest for this procedure. NE averages $12.03 vs NV at $8.64.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE | $12.03 | $203.7K | 16.9K | 1 |
| VI | $12.03 | $1.4M | 116.7K | 1 |
| MT | $11.94 | $1.6M | 131.2K | 4 |
| CO | $11.93 | $2.3M | 190.6K | 4 |
| MI | $11.93 | $379.4K | 31.8K | 4 |
| NM | $11.87 | $2.1M | 177.4K | 8 |
| KS | $11.85 | $1.3M | 108.0K | 4 |
| WY | $11.84 | $601.4K | 50.8K | 3 |
| MO | $11.76 | $1.4M | 120.3K | 2 |
| HI | $11.74 | $574.2K | 48.9K | 5 |
| AZ | $11.67 | $1.0M | 88.5K | 7 |
| AK | $11.56 | $5.9M | 509.8K | 11 |
| UT | $11.49 | $401.2K | 34.9K | 2 |
| SD | $11.48 | $1.3M | 111.7K | 4 |
| ME | $11.36 | $139.2K | 12.3K | 1 |
| MA | $11.34 | $14.5K | 1.3K | 1 |
| WA | $11.33 | $1.6M | 142.3K | 2 |
| CA | $11.32 | $1.5M | 135.1K | 2 |
| FL | $10.91 | $178.0K | 16.3K | 1 |
| MN | $10.90 | $193.0K | 17.7K | 3 |
| OR | $10.76 | $2.7M | 248.7K | 4 |
| AL | $10.75 | $2.4M | 225.6K | 1 |
| TX | $10.68 | $1.7M | 156.6K | 8 |
| ND | $10.27 | $427.1K | 41.6K | 3 |
| OK | $10.26 | $57.5K | 5.6K | 1 |
| AR | $9.63 | $144.4K | 15.0K | 2 |
| SC | $9.52 | $56.3K | 5.9K | 1 |
| NV | $8.64 | $129.3K | 15.0K | 2 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lifemed Alaska, Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | AK | $2.5M | 223.1K | $11.15 |
| Rocky Mountain Holdings, Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | AL | $2.4M | 225.6K | $10.75 |
| Life Flight Network Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | OR | $2.2M | 202.9K | $10.74 |
| Classic Air Care Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | CO | $1.9M | 155.2K | $11.95 |
| University Of Washington | Ambulance Service Provider | WA | $1.5M | 134.1K | $11.29 |
| Reach Air Medical Services Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | CA | $1.4M | 122.9K | $11.44 |
| Aac-Air Ambulance Caribbean Inc. | Ambulance Service Provider | VI | $1.4M | 116.7K | $12.03 |
| Cal-Ore Life Flight Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | MO | $1.3M | 104.9K | $11.94 |
| Guardian Flight Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | AK | $1.1M | 95.1K | $11.88 |
| Guardian Flight Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | AK | $978.8K | 82.8K | $11.82 |
| Dale Aviation Inc | Ambulance Service Provider | SD | $831.3K | 74.1K | $11.21 |
| Csi Aviation, Inc. | Ambulance Service Provider | NM | $756.1K | 64.3K | $11.76 |
| Northeast Montana Stat Air Amublance Cooperative | Ambulance Service Provider | MT | $706.1K | 58.9K | $12.00 |
| Apollo Medflight, Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | TX | $579.6K | 52.0K | $11.14 |
| Shc 2021 Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | MT | $511.1K | 42.6K | $12.01 |
| Elite Medical Air Transport, Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | TX | $505.5K | 48.7K | $10.39 |
| Med-Trans Corporation | Ambulance Service Provider | KS | $393.3K | 32.7K | $12.02 |
| Guardian Flight Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | AK | $383.7K | 31.9K | $12.03 |
| Med-Trans Corporation | Ambulance Service Provider | KS | $342.9K | 28.6K | $12.00 |
| Guardian Flight Llc | Ambulance Service Provider | NM | $326.7K | 27.3K | $11.96 |
Based on the data, CPT A0435 shows a 1.4x variation in pricing across states — relatively consistent by Medicare standards.
Costs have increased 27.6% since 2014. Medicare's fee schedule attempts to standardize pricing, though some variation is expected due to geographic cost-of-living adjustments and practice expense differences.
This analysis is based on publicly available CMS data and does not account for patient complexity, comorbidities, or facility-specific factors that may justify pricing differences.
Note: All data is from publicly available Medicare records. OpenMedicare is an independent journalism project not affiliated with CMS.