Lewistown Medicaid spending for National Codes category jumps 147.6% in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Lewistown billed $294,939 for services under the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category, according to information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This totaled a 147.6% increase from 2023, when $119,099 was billed for the same set of services.

Medicaid, funded jointly by the federal government and the states, is a public health insurance program that serves low-income individuals and families, seniors, children and people with disabilities. It represents a significant component of the nation’s health care infrastructure.

Since Medicaid payments rely on taxpayer funding, shifts in local billing reflect how health care dollars are allocated across communities.

The National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category includes Medicaid-billed services identified by specific types of care and standardized groupings of HCPCS and CPT codes. For this review, each claim was matched to a specific service category by code prefix and range, enabling examination of related services without duplicating entries or affecting ranking accuracy over time.

Though Medicaid outlays went up among a range of services, the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category led Lewistown in total Medicaid payments for 2024.

Statewide, this same category placed second in Montana by overall Medicaid payments for 2024.

During the five years leading up to 2024, Medicaid payments for the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category in Lewistown grew by $294,939, or 0%. Some periods experienced surges in spending, particularly in 2023 and 2022.

Service costs for the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category arose citywide, but in 2024 the majority were concentrated in a few ZIP codes. The highest aggregate of Medicaid payments tied to this category went to ZIP code 59457 at $294,938, making up 100% of relevant Medicaid expense in Lewistown that year.

Spending within the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category was largely attributed to a narrow set of billing codes.

For context, Medicaid payments linked to the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category in Lewistown rose 147.6% between 2024 and 2023, in contrast with a 16.4% growth cumulatively across all Medicaid claim categories in the city for this period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, federal and state Medicaid program spending totaled roughly $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, or about 18% of total national health expenditures. This represents a substantial rise from the pre-pandemic $613.5 billion logged in 2019.

This increase is a nearly 40% jump over several years, shaped primarily by greater enrollment and higher service utilization during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent federal budget actions under the Trump administration have included major proposals to decrease federal Medicaid funding and reshape the program. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is anticipated to reduce federal Medicaid funding by more than $1 trillion over 10 years. It also introduces measures including work requirements and increased cost-sharing, potentially diminishing coverage and resources for select beneficiaries. These revisions are projected to transfer more responsibility to the states and restrict growth in federal Medicaid contributions, while millions of Americans continue to receive program support.

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.