Medicaid payments in Belen for Medicine Services and Procedures reach $2,021,009 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Belen submitted claims totaling $2,021,009 for services within the Medicine Services and Procedures category, based on information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This figure represents a 42.3% rise from 2023, when claims for this service category amounted to $1,419,788.

Medicaid, a state-administered public health insurance program funded by both the federal and state governments, serves low-income people and families, seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities, and is a core component of the U.S. health care system.

As Medicaid payments are publicly funded, fluctuations in claims trends reflect how public health spending is distributed throughout communities.

The “Medicine Services and Procedures” category comprises Medicaid-billed services defined by the clinical care delivered, grouped by standardized HCPCS and CPT code prefixes and numeric intervals. This approach classifies each billing code into a single service category, linking similar procedures while ensuring rankings and figures remain distinct and unduplicated over time.

Spending on Medicaid increased in several service groups, but Medicine Services and Procedures was the second-largest category for total Medicaid payments in Belen for 2024.

Across New Mexico, the Medicine Services and Procedures category had the highest total Medicaid payments statewide in 2024.

Over five years before 2024, Medicaid payments connected to the Medicine Services and Procedures group in Belen rose by $1,414,659, a 233.3% increase. The most significant yearly increases occurred in 2021 and 2020.

Although funds for Medicine Services and Procedures were distributed across Belen, the highest concentration was in a few ZIP codes. During 2024, ZIP code 87002 alone accounted for $2,021,009, representing 100% of Medicaid payments tied to this category in the city.

Payments within the Medicine Services and Procedures group were also concentrated among just a few specific billing codes.

Comparing 2024 to the previous year, Medicaid payments in Belen for Medicine Services and Procedures went up by 42.3%, while total Medicaid claims for all categories in the city increased by 41.3% in the same timeframe.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid spending totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023. That equaled roughly 18% of total U.S. health expenditures, a sharp increase from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

This change marks a surge of nearly 40% over several years, largely due to expanded program enrollment and increased service use during and following the pandemic.

Federal budget measures introduced under the Trump administration have brought forward proposals to reduce Medicaid funding and restructure the program. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is projected to cut federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion over 10 years and adds policies like work requirements and higher cost-sharing, potentially reducing coverage and funding for certain groups. This legislation is expected to place more fiscal responsibility on states and may slow the expansion of federal Medicaid support, even as the program covers 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.