Santa Ana sees 12.7% rise in Medicaid payments for National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Santa Ana billed $39,865,981 for services under the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database showed. This total represents a 12.7% increase from 2023, when providers filed $35,386,768 in claims for the same category.

Medicaid, operated by states with funding from both state and federal governments, provides coverage for low-income individuals and families, seniors, children and people with disabilities. It is one of the nation’s largest public health insurance programs and a significant component of the U.S. health care system.

Since taxpayer dollars fund Medicaid payments, trends in local billing reflect how public health resources are distributed within a community.

The “National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies” group encompasses services billed to Medicaid as defined by the type of care provided, built on standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. For this report, each billing code was assigned to a unique service category by matching code prefixes and numerical ranges, which allows closely related services to be reviewed together while preventing double counting and ensuring accurate comparisons over time.

Despite rising Medicaid spending across a range of categories, National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies was the third-highest in Santa Ana by total payments in 2024.

Statewide in California, the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies ranked first overall for total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Across the five years prior to 2024, Medicaid payments associated with this category in Santa Ana grew by $17,088,359, or 75%. Periods of more rapid growth were seen in 2023 and 2021, when spending increased notably year over year.

Although Medicaid spending in this category occurred throughout Santa Ana, the majority of funds were concentrated in a few ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 92701 led with $24,845,390, followed by 92704 at $8,906,840 and 92703 at $2,405,759. Altogether, these top 3 ZIP codes represented 90.7% of the city’s Medicaid payments for the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies.

Within this service category, most Medicaid payments were attributed to a small set of individual billing codes.

Comparatively, Medicaid spending tied to this group grew by 12.7% in Santa Ana from 2023 to 2024, while payments across all Medicaid claim categories citywide rose 11.9% in the same time frame.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid expenditures reached approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, accounting for about 18% of total national health costs, up sharply compared to $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This increase marks growth of nearly 40% over a few years, mostly due to expanded enrollment and greater usage during and following the pandemic.

Recent budget legislation enacted under the Trump administration introduced major proposals to reduce federal Medicaid funding and restructure the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is projected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over 10 years. It brings policies such as work requirements and increased cost-sharing, expected to decrease coverage and funding for some beneficiaries, shifting more financial responsibility to states while placing limits on federal Medicaid support as the program continues to cover tens of 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.