In 2024, Medicaid providers in Lowell billed a total of $21,368,264 for services in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This amount reflects a 4.8% uptick from 2023, when $20,383,845 in claims were submitted for the same category.
Medicaid is a public insurance program operated by the states and funded by both federal and state governments. It helps provide coverage for low-income groups, seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities, making it one of the largest segments of the U.S. health care system.
Because Medicaid payments are sourced from taxpayers, changes in local billing reveal how public health funds are distributed throughout the community.
The “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment” category covers an array of Medicaid services defined by care type, categorized according to standardized HCPCS and CPT code ranges. For this analysis, each code was assigned to a single service group based on code structure, which enabled accurate grouping while avoiding any duplicate counting and maintained consistent rankings over several years.
Among service categories tracked, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment held the second-highest Medicaid payment total in Lowell for 2024.
Statewide in Massachusetts, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment ranked third among all Medicaid payment categories that year.
From 2020 to 2024, Medicaid spending linked to Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment in Lowell increased by $1,675,335, or 8.5%. Growth in spending accelerated at some points, with significant year-over-year raises in both 2023 and 2022.
While spending in this category was observed citywide, Medicaid payments were concentrated within a select number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 01852 saw the highest spending at $20,128,476, followed by 01851 at $1,239,787. Combined, these two ZIP codes represented 100% of Medicaid payments for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment in Lowell for the year.
Within the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment group, payments were primarily distributed among a handful of billing codes.
Looking at trends, Medicaid payments connected to Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment in Lowell grew 4.8% between 2024 and 2023, compared to a 12.5% increase seen across all Medicaid claim categories in the city over the same timeframe.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined state and federal Medicaid expenditures reached roughly $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, accounting for about 18% of overall U.S. health costs—up from nearly $613.5 billion in 2019, before the effects of COVID-19.
This rise marks a gain of around 40% over several years, driven by growing program enrollment and increased use of health services during and following the pandemic.
Federal budget legislation enacted under the Trump administration recently included broad proposals to cut federal Medicaid funding and restructure the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” approved in 2025, is anticipated to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade, introducing measures like work requirements and higher cost-sharing. These policies could affect coverage and financing for certain Medicaid beneficiaries, shifting more responsibility to the states and slowing growth of federal support, even though the program continues to aid tens of millions of Americans.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $19,692,929 | -26.1% |
| 2021 | $17,220,771 | -12.6% |
| 2022 | $18,084,791 | 5% |
| 2023 | $20,383,845 | 12.7% |
| 2024 | $21,368,263 | 4.8% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $61,159,781 | 41% |
| 2 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $21,368,263 | 14.3% |
| 3 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $17,154,227 | 11.5% |
| 4 | Evaluation and Management | $14,111,686 | 9.5% |
| 5 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $11,871,760 | 8% |
| 6 | Procedures / Professional Services | $5,119,443 | 3.4% |
| 7 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $4,844,030 | 3.2% |
| 8 | Radiology Procedures | $4,830,397 | 3.2% |
| 9 | Surgery | $2,817,630 | 1.9% |
| 10 | Dental Services | $2,759,392 | 1.8% |
| 11 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $1,650,022 | 1.1% |
| 12 | Chemotherapy Drugs | $1,030,892 | 0.7% |
| 13 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $290,702 | 0.2% |
| 14 | Anesthesia | $85,827 | 0.1% |
| 15 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $62,291 | <0.1% |
| 16 | Vision Services | $2,738 | <0.1% |
| 17 | Temporary Codes | $2,130 | <0.1% |
| 18 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $1,637 | <0.1% |
| 19 | Outpatient PPS | $19 | <0.1% |
| 20 | Other Services | $0 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| H2015 | Comp comm supp svc, 15 min | $13,098,881 | 22 |
| H0019 | Alcohol and/or drug services | $5,369,899 | 25 |
| H0043 | Supported housing, per diem | $1,222,045 | 12 |
| H2023 | Supported employ, per 15 min | $632,640 | 10 |
| H2019 | Ther behav svc, per 15 min | $508,533 | 20 |
| H2016 | Comp comm supp svc, per diem | $477,628 | 13 |
| H0015 | Alcohol and/or drug services | $32,960 | 3 |
| H0004 | Alcohol and/or drug services | $25,675 | 8 |
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.
