Medicaid payments for alcohol and drug abuse treatment increase 0.9% in Independence in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Independence billed $3,097,352 for services falling under the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category, as shown in data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This reflects a 0.9% rise compared with 2023, when providers claimed $3,070,307 for the same services.

Medicaid, a public health insurance system managed by states and funded by both federal and state governments, serves low-income people, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, making up a substantial portion of the U.S. health care landscape.

Since Medicaid is funded by taxpayers, changes in billing levels at the local level reflect how health care dollars are distributed within a community.

The “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment” grouping encompasses Medicaid-billed services sorted by the care provided, based on HCPCS and CPT code groupings. For this report, every billing code was assigned to one service group using preset code prefixes and number ranges, so related services could be evaluated together while double-counting was avoided and rank accuracy was kept intact over time.

Alongside broader Medicaid spending increases by category, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment was the second-highest category in Independence for total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Statewide in Iowa, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment ranked highest for total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Looking at the five years prior to 2024, Medicaid payments for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment in Independence saw an increase of $1,596,796, or 34%. Growth accelerated during marked periods, with standout year-over-year gains appearing in 2020 and 2023.

While these Medicaid payments were spread citywide, most were centered around a few ZIP codes. The highest payments in 2024 for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment came from ZIP code 50644, totaling $3,097,352. The top 1 ZIP code made up 100% of all Medicaid payments in this service category within Independence that year.

A smaller group of individual billing codes accounted for most payments inside the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment group.

Comparatively, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Medicaid payments in Independence climbed 0.9% between 2024 and 2023, while all Medicaid claim categories saw a 1.5% change across the city during this time.

Data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shows that federal and state Medicaid spending together reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, roughly 18% of total U.S. health expenditures. That marks a sharp increase from nearly $613.5 billion in 2019, ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rise signals about 40% growth over a few years, stemmed mainly from increased enrollment and higher usage through and following the pandemic.

Recent federal budget legislation passed under the Trump administration features proposals to sharply decrease federal Medicaid funding and revamp the program’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is set to cut federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion during the next decade and adds elements like work requirements and added cost-sharing, potentially lowering funding and coverage for certain beneficiaries. As a result, states are expected to absorb more costs, inhibiting federal Medicaid growth, while the program remains a core source of coverage for millions.

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.