Irvine Medicaid spending on Surgery services climbs to $4,792,685 in 2024

Medicaid providers in Irvine billed $4,792,685 for Surgery-related services in 2024, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows. This represents a 49.8% rise compared to 2023, when providers filed $3,199,833 in claims for these services.

Medicaid, a jointly federal- and state-funded public health insurance program, covers low-income people and families, older adults, children, and people with disabilities—making it a central part of the U.S. health system. Learn more about funding sources here.

Since taxpayer dollars finance Medicaid payments, local shifts in billing levels provide a window into the allocation of public health funds within a community.

The “Surgery” classification describes Medicaid-billed services grouped by care type, identified using established HCPCS and CPT code sets. For this review, each billing code was assigned to a single service group by consistent code prefixes and numerical ranges, ensuring accurate comparison without duplication and maintaining reliable trends.

While Medicaid expenditures increased across several service groups, Surgery was the sixth-highest Medicaid payment category in Irvine for 2024.

Across California, Surgery ranked 12th by total Medicaid spending during 2024.

From the five years preceding 2024, Medicaid spending for the Surgery category in Irvine climbed by $4,548,733, representing 1864.6% growth. Some periods, particularly 2021 and 2022, saw accelerated year-over-year increases.

Though Medicaid payments for Surgery were found citywide, most funds were focused in several ZIP codes. In 2024, the leading ZIP codes for Surgery-related Medicaid payments were 92614, which accounted for $3,160,321; 92618, with $941,143; and 92606, which saw $690,687. Combined, these top 3 ZIP codes represented all Medicaid payments for Surgery in Irvine that year.

Within the Surgery group, Medicaid reimbursements were similarly concentrated within a few specific billing codes.

In perspective, Medicaid payments for Surgery grew 49.8% in Irvine between 2024 and 2023, while all Medicaid claim categories citywide changed by 22.4% in the same timeframe.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined state and federal Medicaid spending totaled approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, accounting for about 18% of overall national health expenditures. This marked an increase from around $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The jump reflects roughly 40% growth in a few years, with expanded enrollment and increased use during and following the pandemic cited as main drivers.

Recent federal budget laws signed during the Trump administration have included major proposals to decrease federal Medicaid funding and reshape the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,”, enacted in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion over the next decade and implements initiatives like work requirements and increased cost-sharing. These new policies are expected to place more financial responsibility on states and restrict future federal Medicaid growth, even as the program continues serving tens of millions of Americans.

Note: HCPCS codes are provided for context within the category. Totals and rankings discussed in this report are calculated using standardized service groups, not individual billing codes.

Information referenced in this story comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Source data are available here.