Medicaid payments for state-designated codes surge 636.5% in Gray in 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows Medicaid providers in Gray billed $2,235,273 in 2024 for services within the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category. This amount represents a 636.5% jump compared with 2023, when providers submitted $303,507 in claims for the same category.

Medicaid is a state-administered health insurance program funded jointly by federal and state governments. It covers low-income individuals, families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, and remains among the nation’s largest health care programs.

Because Medicaid relies on taxpayer funding, fluctuations in local claims reveal how community health dollars are distributed.

The “National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies” category consists of services classified by standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings, defined by the care provided. For this article, each code was sorted into one service category based on uniform code prefixes and numerical ranges, making it possible to analyze related services together while avoiding overlap and maintaining accurate rankings over time.

Although several service categories saw higher spending, National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies placed fourth in Gray for total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Statewide in Tennessee, National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies ranked first by total Medicaid payments for 2024.

Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid payments for the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category in Gray rose by $1,961,967, or 717.9%. Some of the sharpest increases occurred in 2022 and 2023, accelerating overall growth.

These payments were distributed throughout the city, but a small group of ZIP codes saw the majority of activity. In 2024, ZIP code 37615 accounted for $2,235,272, representing 100% of all Medicaid payments in this category in Gray that year.

Dominant billing codes within the category also concentrated most Medicaid payments among a few codes.

In terms of growth, Medicaid payments for the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category in Gray increased 636.5% from 2023 to 2024. For comparison, all Medicaid claim categories in the city saw a 30.2% change during the same time frame.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total Medicaid spending by federal and state governments was approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up about 18% of national health expenditures. That figure rose from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This increase amounts to roughly 40% over just a few years, mainly attributed to rising enrollment and increased health service use during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget measures under the Trump administration have included major proposals to decrease Medicaid funding and revise program structure. Notably, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, aims to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. The law implements new work requirements and greater cost-sharing, potentially decreasing coverage and funding for some recipients. These shifts are expected to transfer more financial responsibility to the states and place limits on future federal support for Medicaid, though the program 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.