Alamo Medicaid claims for Vision Services reach $4,053 in 2024, marking 7.8% increase

Alamo Medicaid providers submitted $4,053 in claims for services in the Vision Services category in 2024, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database data shows. This was a 7.8% increase from 2023, when $3,759 was billed for the same service category.

Medicaid is a public insurance program managed by states and funded jointly by both federal and state governments. It serves low-income individuals and families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, making it one of the largest components of the U.S. health care system.

Since Medicaid spending is taxpayer-funded, fluctuations in local billing reflect how public health dollars are used in the community.

The “Vision Services” group includes Medicaid-billed services organized by care type, utilizing standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. The codes in this analysis were each assigned to one service category using set code prefixes and numeric ranges, allowing related services to be grouped while avoiding duplication and maintaining accurate rankings over time.

While Medicaid expenditures increased in several service categories, Vision Services was the fourth-largest in Alamo by total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Across New Mexico, Vision Services ranked 16th by total Medicaid payments in 2024.

From 2019 through 2024, Alamo’s Medicaid payments for Vision Services rose by $4,053, or 0%. Growth in spending accelerated in certain years, with significant increases seen in 2023 and 2022.

Spending for Vision Services was distributed citywide, but a few ZIP codes saw the highest payment levels. In 2024, the top ZIP code, 87825, accounted for $4,053 in Medicaid payments. This single ZIP code was responsible for 100% of all Vision Services Medicaid spending in Alamo that year.

Medicaid claims in the Vision Services category were also concentrated among a small number of billing codes.

For context, Vision Services Medicaid payments in Alamo increased by 7.8% from 2023 to 2024, while all Medicaid claim categories in the city saw a 22.5% change during the same timeframe.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid outlays reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, accounting for roughly 18% of total national health expenditures, a sharp increase from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This increase equals nearly 40% growth in just a few years, mainly due to expanded enrollment and higher utilization during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget actions under the Trump administration have featured significant proposals to reduce federal Medicaid spending and restructure the program. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid expenditures by more than $1 trillion over the coming decade, introducing work requirements and increased cost-sharing likely to reduce both coverage and funding for some recipients. These adjustments could shift more costs to states and slow the growth of federal Medicaid funding, as the program continues serving millions of Americans.

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.