Alton sees 22.4% rise in Medicaid spending for Medicine Services and Procedures in 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database show that, in 2024, Medicaid providers in Alton billed $1,062,098 for services under the Medicine Services and Procedures category. This reflects a 22.4% increase from the $867,529 billed in 2023 for these services.

Funded jointly by federal and state governments and operated by states, Medicaid offers health coverage to people with low incomes, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, making it one of the core programs in U.S. health care.

Adjustments in local Medicaid billing directly impact how community public health funds are allocated, since payments derive from taxpayer contributions.

The “Medicine Services and Procedures” category encompasses a selection of Medicaid-billed services defined by care type, standardizing HCPCS and CPT codes for analysis. Billing codes were grouped by consistent prefixes and ranges, enabling evaluation of related services without double counting and maintaining accuracy in historical ranking comparisons.

While growth was noted in several Medicaid service categories, Medicine Services and Procedures finished 2024 as the second largest category by total Medicaid payments in Alton.

Statewide across Texas, Medicine Services and Procedures ranked fifth in Medicaid payment totals for 2024.

In the five years through 2024, Alton experienced an increase of $1,044,415, or 5906.3%, in Medicaid payments for this category. There were considerable year-over-year spending jumps, notably during 2020 and 2023.

Although payments in this category were made citywide, most were concentrated in certain ZIP codes. The highest Medicaid reimbursement in 2024 went to ZIP code 78573, accounting for $1,062,098 or 100% of the total for this service category in Alton.

Individual billing codes within Medicine Services and Procedures also saw payments grouped among a relatively small set of codes.

From 2023 to 2024, Medicaid payments in this category in Alton increased by 22.4%, compared with a 1% rise for all Medicaid categories in the city during the same period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined state and federal Medicaid expenses reached around $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, comprising roughly 18% of all U.S. health spending. This is up significantly from nearly $613.5 billion in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This represents a growth of about 40% in just a few years, largely attributed to expanded enrollment and increased usage during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal legislation signed into law under the Trump administration included major initiatives aimed at reducing federal Medicaid funding and changing the program’s structure. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” became law in 2025 and is set to cut over $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending in the next decade. It also introduces requirements such as work mandates and heightened cost sharing that could lower both coverage and funding for some participants. The anticipated outcome is a bigger cost burden for states and restrictions on federal funding growth, with the program still providing coverage for 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.