Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database indicates that in 2024, Medicaid providers in Greensboro billed $53,735,512 for services in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category. This amount reflects a 14.6% uptick from 2023, when claims for similar services totaled $46,873,047.
Medicaid, one of the largest components of the U.S. health care system, is a state-administered public insurance jointly funded by federal and state governments, covering low-income residents, families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities.
Since Medicaid payments are sourced from taxpayers, local fluctuations in billing levels reflect how a community’s public health funds are distributed.
The “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment” category includes Medicaid-billed services grouped by the type of care provided, using recognized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. In compiling this analysis, service codes were placed into categories with designated prefixes and number ranges, ensuring like services could be evaluated collectively while minimizing overlap and keeping rankings clear through time.
Of the several service categories with increased Medicaid spending, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment stood as the third-highest in Greensboro by overall Medicaid payments reported in 2024.
Across North Carolina, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment held the fourth spot statewide in terms of total payments for 2024.
Analyzing the five years before 2024, Medicaid spending on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment in Greensboro rose $24,062,225 – or 81.1%. Key periods of accelerated growth were noted, especially between 2023 and 2021.
Though care spending in this category was spread throughout Greensboro, payment amounts focused primarily on a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, top ZIP codes by Medicaid payments were 27407 with $20,352,132, 27405 at $10,450,095, and 27406 totaling $8,366,214—these 3 ZIP codes combined comprised 72.9% of all Medicaid payments in the category for the year.
Payments in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment were also principally linked to a select group of procedure billing codes.
Compared to the overall pool, Medicaid payments for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment in Greensboro increased 14.6% between 2024 and 2023, compared to a citywide 5.1% rise across all Medicaid claim types over the same span.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total Medicaid spending by both federal and state sources was about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, representing roughly 18% of national health expenditures, up significantly from about $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This surge marks an increase of around 40% within only a few years, primarily attributed to growing enrollment and higher service use during and following the pandemic.
Budgetary actions at the federal level in the Trump administration included major recommendations to reduce the federal share of Medicaid and alter how the program is structured. Notably, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid funding by over $1 trillion across a decade while introducing work requirements and heightened cost-sharing that could impact coverage and support for beneficiaries. Such measures anticipate possible higher fiscal responsibility for states and curbing future federal Medicaid outlays, even as the program remains a critical support for tens of millions of participants.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $29,673,286 | 6.7% |
| 2021 | $33,820,173 | 14% |
| 2022 | $37,051,263 | 9.6% |
| 2023 | $46,873,046 | 26.5% |
| 2024 | $53,735,512 | 14.6% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $88,143,925 | 29.8% |
| 2 | Evaluation and Management | $56,766,694 | 19.2% |
| 3 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $53,735,512 | 18.1% |
| 4 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $43,000,656 | 14.5% |
| 5 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $15,738,133 | 5.3% |
| 6 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $9,503,654 | 3.2% |
| 7 | Procedures / Professional Services | $7,784,092 | 2.6% |
| 8 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $7,377,865 | 2.5% |
| 9 | Dental Services | $6,559,973 | 2.2% |
| 10 | Radiology Procedures | $4,172,427 | 1.4% |
| 11 | Durable Medical Equipment | $1,270,951 | 0.4% |
| 12 | Surgery | $986,984 | 0.3% |
| 13 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $373,459 | 0.1% |
| 14 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $257,702 | 0.1% |
| 15 | Anesthesia | $182,294 | 0.1% |
| 16 | Durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) | $177,459 | 0.1% |
| 17 | Temporary Codes | $55,148 | <0.1% |
| 18 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $24,273 | <0.1% |
| 19 | Coronavirus Diagnostic Panel | $12,704 | <0.1% |
| 20 | Chemotherapy Drugs | $12,586 | <0.1% |
| 21 | Orthotic Procedures and services | $6,766 | <0.1% |
| 22 | Vision Services | $54 | <0.1% |
| 23 | Outpatient PPS | $37 | <0.1% |
| 24 | Pathology and Laboratory Services | $0 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| H2016 | Comp comm supp svc, per diem | $17,449,143 | 111 |
| H2015 | Comp comm supp svc, 15 min | $11,205,509 | 160 |
| H0040 | Assert comm tx pgm per diem | $5,881,053 | 47 |
| H2022 | Com wrap-around sv, per diem | $4,484,016 | 68 |
| H2033 | Multisys ther/juvenile 15min | $4,277,221 | 12 |
| H0020 | Alcohol and/or drug services | $4,057,405 | 45 |
| H0038 | Self-help/peer svc per 15min | $3,205,016 | 65 |
| H2017 | Psysoc rehab svc, per 15 min | $1,344,655 | 47 |
| H2025 | Supp maint employ, 15 min | $598,355 | 20 |
| H0015 | Alcohol and/or drug services | $412,453 | 24 |
| H2035 | A/d tx program, per hour | $366,188 | 6 |
| H0036 | Comm psy face-face per 15min | $183,487 | 16 |
| H2023 | Supported employ, per 15 min | $112,214 | 8 |
| H2012 | Behav hlth day treat, per hr | $111,793 | 3 |
| H2026 | Supp maint employ, per diem | $46,999 | 16 |
| H0025 | Alcohol and/or drug preventi | $0 | 6 |
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.
