White Sulphur Springs Medicaid payments for Pathology and Laboratory Procedures rise 47% to $312 in 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database show that Medicaid providers in White Sulphur Springs billed $312 in 2024 for Pathology and Laboratory Procedures services. That represents a 47.2% jump from 2023, when $212 in claims were submitted for similar services.

Medicaid is a state-administered public insurance program supported by both federal and state governments. It serves low-income people and families, seniors, children and those with disabilities, making it a core part of the U.S. health care system.

Since Medicaid funds are taxpayer-supported, local changes in billing reflect how community health care resources are distributed.

The “Pathology and Laboratory Procedures” category includes services defined by type of care, grouped with standardized HCPCS and CPT code prefixes and numeric ranges. Each billing code was assigned to one service grouping for this analysis, so related services could be tracked consistently, avoiding duplications and supporting accurate rankings over time.

Pathology and Laboratory Procedures led all service categories in total Medicaid payments for White Sulphur Springs in 2024, despite growth in multiple areas.

Across Montana, Pathology and Laboratory Procedures ranked eighth in total Medicaid payments for 2024.

Over the five years leading to 2024, White Sulphur Springs saw Medicaid spending tied to Pathology and Laboratory Procedures reach $312, holding steady at 0%. However, periods such as 2023 and 2022 saw higher year-over-year growth.

Payments tied to Pathology and Laboratory Procedures services were mostly concentrated in a few ZIP codes within White Sulphur Springs. In 2024, ZIP code 59645 accounted for $311, or 99.9% of all Medicaid payments for the category in the city.

Medicaid spending within Pathology and Laboratory Procedures also tended to center on a select group of billing codes.

To compare, Medicaid spending for this category grew 47.2% from 2023 to 2024, while total Medicaid payments across all categories in White Sulphur Springs advanced 98.3% during the same span.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid expenditures totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up nearly 18% of U.S. health spending, up from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This reflects roughly 40% overall growth in a few years, stemming largely from increased enrollment and healthcare use during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget measures passed under the Trump administration have introduced major proposals to decrease federal Medicaid support and alter the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is forecast to cut federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion in the coming decade and includes requirements such as work obligations and increased cost-sharing, which may lower coverage and funding for some enrollees. These policies are expected to shift more costs to states and constrain growth in federal Medicaid funding, even as the program continues to cover 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.