Medicaid spending for Medicine Services and Procedures reaches $13.2 million in Paragould for 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database show that billing for Medicaid-covered services in Paragould reached $13,169,764 in the Medicine Services and Procedures category for 2024. This amount represents a 2.6% growth compared with the $12,837,770 reported for similar services during 2023.

Medicaid serves as a state-administered public insurance program with joint funding from federal and state governments. The program provides coverage for low-income residents, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, which places it among the largest components of the U.S. health care landscape.

Fluctuations in local billing levels offer insight into the allocation of public health care resources, since taxpayer money is used to support Medicaid payments.

The “Medicine Services and Procedures” category encompasses a range of Medicaid-billed services, identified by specific care types using analytics based on HCPCS and CPT code groupings. This review categorized each code into a single service classification using consistent code patterns and numeric intervals to allow for accurate comparisons over time and to maintain clear rankings.

Paragould reported Medicine Services and Procedures as its leading Medicaid expenditure category in 2024, based on aggregate payment figures, even as several service types saw spending increases.

Throughout Arkansas, Medicine Services and Procedures stood as the second-largest Medicaid payment category statewide in 2024.

Over the five years prior to 2024, funding through Medicaid for Medicine Services and Procedures in Paragould climbed by $7,592,535, a 136.1% increase. The city saw the most significant annual jumps in expenditures in both 2021 and 2022.

Though the category’s Medicaid spending was dispersed citywide, a handful of ZIP codes had the majority of payments. In 2024, ZIP code 72450 accounted for $13,169,764, representing the entirety of Medicaid spending on Medicine Services and Procedures within the city.

Medicaid reimbursement for the Medicine Services and Procedures category was also highly focused among specific billing codes.

Comparatively, the 2.6% increase for the Medicine Services and Procedures category between 2024 and 2023 was below the 4.1% rise reported across all Medicaid claim types within Paragould during that timeframe.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total state and federal Medicaid spending grew to roughly $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up about 18% of all U.S. health expenditures—a significant increase from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This increase amounts to nearly 40% growth within several years, driven by rising enrollment numbers and higher use of services amid and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget bills passed under the Trump administration included major proposals that reduce federal Medicaid contributions and alter program funding structures. One example, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” was enacted in 2025 and is estimated to cut more than $1 trillion from federal Medicaid funding over the next 10 years, incorporating measures such as new work requirements and broader cost-sharing. These reforms could limit coverage and funding for certain eligible groups by shifting more responsibility to state programs and restricting federal Medicaid support, all while the program continues covering 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.