Freedom sees $1,110,999 in Medicaid payments for Surgery services in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Freedom billed $1,110,999 for Surgery category services, based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This total reflects a 37.4% increase from 2023, which saw $808,591 in billed claims for similar services.

Medicaid, a public health insurance initiative jointly funded by federal and state governments and managed at the state level, provides coverage for low-income families, seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities, making it a significant component of the nation’s health care system.

Since Medicaid is taxpayer-sponsored, changes in the amount billed locally offer insight into how public health funding is utilized in a specific area.

The “Surgery” category groups together Medicaid-billed services identified by procedures, classified according to standardized HCPCS and CPT code sets. For this review, each code was linked to a specific service grouping via consistent prefixes and numerical ranges, ensuring accuracy and avoiding repeated counting across related codes.

Surgery topped all categories for Medicaid payments in Freedom in 2024, despite increases in multiple service groups.

The Surgery category held the 12th spot for total Medicaid payments statewide in California for 2024.

Between the five years before 2024, Medicaid spending connected to the Surgery category grew by $708,974, marking an increase of 176.4%. Certain years, including 2022 and 2021, saw sharp year-over-year jumps in spending trends.

Although spending on Surgery services occurred throughout Freedom, the majority was concentrated in just a few ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 95019 accounted for $1,110,999—representing all Medicaid payments in Freedom for that category that year.

Most Medicaid payments for Surgery in Freedom are tied to a small selection of unique billing codes.

For context, the 37.4% rise in Surgery category payments in Freedom from 2023 to 2024 outpaced the 8.9% growth reported across all Medicaid claim categories for that period in the city.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total federal and state Medicaid outlays reached approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, equivalent to nearly 18% of the nation’s total health care expenses—an increase from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This represents roughly 40% overall growth in a matter of years, much of it attributed to expanded program rolls and heightened service use in response to and after the pandemic.

Major recent federal budget policies from the Trump administration have proposed notable cuts to Medicaid’s funding and changes to the program structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which became law in 2025, is estimated to reduce federal Medicaid financing by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years. It introduces new requirements such as work mandates and additional cost-sharing, potentially impacting access and funding for some groups, while shifting more financial burden to state budgets as Medicaid continues to cover 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.