Alcohol and drug abuse treatment led Medicaid payments in Montgomery Village, totaling $520,932 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Montgomery Village billed $520,932 for services within the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This amount represents a 52.6% rise over 2023, when claims for the same category totaled $341,325.

Medicaid operates as a state-managed public health insurance program, funded jointly by federal and state governments. Coverage includes low-income individuals and families, children, seniors, and those with disabilities, positioning Medicaid as one of the largest components of the U.S. healthcare system.

Since Medicaid spending is sourced from taxpayers, fluctuations in local billing reflect how a community allocates public healthcare resources.

The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category encompasses a set of Medicaid services determined by care type based on standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. Each code used in the analysis is assigned to one category by consistent prefix and numeric range groupings, ensuring related services are analyzed together without double counting for accurate long-term comparisons.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment was the top Medicaid spending category in Montgomery Village by total payments in 2024, outpacing other service categories that saw rising spending.

This category also ranked first statewide in Maryland for total Medicaid payments in 2024.

During the five years up to 2024, Montgomery Village saw Medicaid payments for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment grow by $437,093, or 521.3%. Certain years, including 2021 and 2023, showed particularly strong growth year over year.

Though these services were delivered throughout Montgomery Village, payments were notably concentrated within a small number of ZIP codes. For 2024, ZIP code 20886 alone accounted for $520,931 in payments, representing 100% of the city’s Medicaid payments in this category for the year.

Additionally, Medicaid payments in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category were focused on a small number of billing codes.

Comparing data from 2024 to 2023, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Medicaid payments in Montgomery Village increased by 52.6%, while payments for all Medicaid claim categories in the city rose just 0.6% over the same period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid outlays reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, accounting for about 18% of total national healthcare expenditures—a sharp increase from $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This rise represents approximately 40% growth in several years, largely due to increased enrollment and service use during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget measures enacted during the Trump administration have included major provisions to decrease federal Medicaid funding and change the program’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” for example, became law in 2025 and is projected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion over the next decade. The legislation introduces work requirements and more cost-sharing, which could restrict funding and coverage for certain participants, potentially shifting greater financial responsibility to states even as Medicaid continues serving tens of 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.

This article’s information originates from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database, available here.