Alcohol and drug abuse treatment Medicaid claims in Delco top $485,000 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Delco billed $485,354 for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment services, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represented a 383.3% jump from 2023, which saw $100,418 in claims for the same services.

Medicaid, a public health insurance initiative overseen by the states and funded through federal and state partnerships, supports low-income individuals and families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities, forming a significant part of the nation’s health care system.

Since Medicaid is funded by taxpayers, shifts in local provider billing reflect how public health care funding is spent at the community level.

The “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment” group includes an array of Medicaid-billed services based on the types of care delivered, as defined by specific HCPCS and CPT code ranges. For this report, billing codes were organized into unique service types using consistent codes and number sequences, grouping related services, preventing duplicate counts, and maintaining accurate rankings over time.

Medicaid outlays rose in a number of categories, yet Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment held the top position for total Medicaid spending in Delco during 2024.

Statewide, this category came in fourth for Medicaid expenditures in North Carolina for 2024.

From 2019 through 2024, Delco’s Medicaid spending for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment services grew by $336,953—an increase of 227.1%. Some periods, such as 2021 and 2022, featured sharper annual growth.

Within the city, spending for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment services was spread throughout Delco, but most payments were reported from a few ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 28436 registered Medicaid payments totaling $485,354. The top ZIP code represented 100% of Medicaid dollars spent in this service group in Delco that year.

Only a select set of individual billing codes accounted for most Medicaid payments within this category.

Comparatively, Medicaid outlays in Delco for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment grew by 383.3% between 2024 and 2023, while overall Medicaid claim categories in the city increased by 97% during the same period.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data shows federal and state Medicaid spending together totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, making up approximately 18% of all national health spending—jumping from $613.5 billion in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This increase equals nearly 40% growth in a few years, largely attributed to expanded enrollment and increased use of services during and after the pandemic.

Recent Trump-era federal budget laws have included major measures to trim Medicaid spending and alter the program’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid outlays by over $1 trillion over the next decade, bringing policies like work stipulations and increased user cost-sharing that could decrease coverage and funding for some recipients. These changes will likely place greater financial responsibility on states and may slow federal Medicaid growth, even as millions continue to rely on the program.

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.