Hessmer Medicaid payments in National Codes Established category rise to $169,835 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Hessmer billed a total of $169,835 for services in the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This amount is a 23.5% increase over the $137,570 in similar claims submitted in 2023.

Medicaid operates as a public health insurance program managed by individual states and financed in partnership between federal and state governments. It provides coverage for low-income people, families, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, making it one of the largest segments of the health care system in the United States.

Since Medicaid funding originates from taxpayers, fluctuations in local billing reflect how public health dollars are distributed across the community.

The National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category is a classification for Medicaid-billed services defined by care type, using standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. For this analysis, billing codes were allocated to service categories according to consistent prefixes and numeric ranges to ensure that related services were grouped without duplication, sustaining consistent rankings over time.

While Medicaid spending increased among several service categories, National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies represented the top-ranked category for total Medicaid payments in Hessmer for 2024.

Across Louisiana, this category was second statewide in total Medicaid payment value in 2024.

Over the five years before 2024, Hessmer’s Medicaid payments associated with the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies category grew by $169,835, equating to 0% growth. Some years, especially in 2023 and 2022, saw higher rates of increase in spending.

Medicaid payments in the National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies group were distributed throughout the city but were most concentrated in a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 71341 accounted for $169,834 in Medicaid payments, representing 100% of local spending in this service category.

Payments within this group were further focused on a select range of individual billing codes.

Comparatively, Hessmer experienced a 23.5% uptick in Medicaid payments for this category between 2024 and 2023, while overall Medicaid claims in the city increased by 23.4% during the same period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total federal and state Medicaid spending was about $871.7 billion for fiscal year 2023, making up around 18% of all national health expenses, a sharp rise from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This growth amounts to an increase of roughly 40% in just a few years, attributed primarily to expanded enrollment and higher service usage during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget measures under the Trump administration have featured major proposals for reductions in federal Medicaid funding and changes to program structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which became law in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid funding by over $1 trillion during the next decade, introducing policy changes including work requirements and an increase in cost-sharing that could limit benefits and funding for certain recipients. These reforms may push greater fiscal responsibilities onto states and slow future growth in federal support, while the program continues to serve 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.