Los Gatos Medicaid spending on Medicine Services and Procedures climbs 1.2% in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Los Gatos reported $319,134 in billings for services within the Medicine Services and Procedures category, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows. This represented a 1.2% increase over 2023, a year in which claims for the category totaled $315,453.

Medicaid is a public health coverage program operated by states with joint federal and state funding from both levels of government. It provides health benefits for people and families with low incomes, as well as seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities, and remains a cornerstone of the U.S. health care system.

Since Medicaid relies on taxpayer funding, shifts in local billing totals illustrate how community public health care dollars are distributed.

The “Medicine Services and Procedures” classification includes a range of Medicaid-billed services grouped according to care type, using standard HCPCS and CPT code sets. To conduct this review, each billing code was assigned to one service category based on consistent numeric ranges and prefixes, ensuring similar services were grouped and preventing double counting, which maintained accurate year-to-year comparisons.

Although Medicaid expenditures increased across a number of service categories, Medicine Services and Procedures accounted for the third largest share of total Medicaid payments in Los Gatos in 2024.

Statewide in California, the Medicine Services and Procedures category also ranked third for total Medicaid payments in 2024.

From 2019 to 2024, Medicaid payments for Medicine Services and Procedures in Los Gatos grew by $36,179, or 10.2%. Spending increased more rapidly at points within this period, particularly in 2020 and 2023.

While payments for Medicine Services and Procedures were disbursed throughout Los Gatos, they were highly concentrated in a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 95032 reported $319,133 in payments for this category. Collectively, the leading ZIP code comprised 100% of all Medicaid payments reported for Medicine Services and Procedures in Los Gatos that year.

Medicaid billing within this category was also concentrated among a small set of specific codes.

For context, the 1.2% increase in Los Gatos’ Medicaid payments for the category from 2023 to 2024 was compared to a 4.8% change in total Medicaid claim amounts for all categories locally in the same period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, nationwide, combined federal and state Medicaid spending reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, which represented nearly 18% of total U.S. health expenditures—a significant increase from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This surge marks an increase of around 40% in a short span, mainly attributable to expanded enrollment and increased use during and after the pandemic environment.

Federal budget actions during the Trump administration brought forward major proposals to scale back federal Medicaid funding and adjust the structure of the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is forecast to cut more than $1 trillion from federal Medicaid support over the next 10 years, with new policies such as work requirements and increased cost-sharing that have potential to reduce coverage and federal funding for some enrollees. These measures are anticipated to place greater cost responsibility on states and restrict federal Medicaid funding growth, while the program remains vital for tens of millions across America.

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.