Ola sees 88.3% rise in Medicaid payments for alcohol and drug abuse treatment in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Ola billed $219,609 for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment services, as reported in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This total reflects an 88.3% jump from 2023, when $116,641 was billed for the same services.

Medicaid, a public health insurance program managed by states with joint federal and state funding, serves low-income individuals, families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities. The program represents a major portion of the U.S. health care system. More information is available from the Commonwealth Fund.

Since Medicaid is supported by taxpayer contributions, local changes in billing levels help illustrate how public health funding is utilized within a community.

The “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment” classification covers Medicaid-billed services that share care characteristics, as determined by standardized HCPCS and CPT code categories. This analysis assigned each code to one category using defined code prefixes and ranges, helping group related services accurately, prevent duplication, and maintain consistent rankings over time.

Across multiple service categories, Medicaid spending climbed in 2024, with Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment ranking second in Ola for total Medicaid payments that year.

At the state level, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment held third place among Medicaid service categories by payment amount in Arkansas for 2024.

From 2019 to 2024, Medicaid payments for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment in Ola grew by $355,971, which is a 61.8% increase. Certain timeframes saw rapid spending growth, especially in 2021 and 2022, with marked increases recorded year over year.

Although these services were available throughout Ola, Medicaid payments were concentrated in a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 72853 led with $219,608, with the top ZIP code accounting for 100% of all Medicaid spending for this service category in the city during the year.

Within the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment group, a handful of billing codes represented the majority of Medicaid payments.

By comparison, Medicaid payments for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment in Ola rose by 88.3% between 2024 and 2023. For all Medicaid claim categories in the city, the change was 2.3% over the same period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid expenditures reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, representing roughly 18% of all national health spending—a notable increase from $613.5 billion in 2019, ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This reflects approximately 40% growth in just a few years, driven mainly by increased enrollment and greater use of services during and after the pandemic period.

Federal budget measures under the Trump administration included major proposals to cut federal Medicaid funding and change the program structure. One example, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion in a decade and implements policies such as work requirements and higher cost-sharing, potentially limiting coverage and funding for certain enrollees. These changes may shift more costs to states and curb federal spending growth, even as Medicaid continues to serve 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.