In 2024, Santa Clarita Medicaid providers submitted $1,243,916 in claims for services categorized as Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment, figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database show. This was an increase of 874.1% over 2023, when the same services accounted for $127,693 in billed claims.
Medicaid, a public health insurance program operated by individual states and funded in partnership by federal and state governments, provides coverage for low-income people, families, older adults, children and those with disabilities. The program represents one of the biggest components of the U.S. health care system.
Since Medicaid payments derive from taxpayer funds, fluctuations in local billing help demonstrate how health care resources are distributed within a city.
The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment classification is based on a set of Medicaid service codes grouped by the type of clinical care delivered, using standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. For this report, billing codes were consistently mapped to a single service category so related care types could be analyzed together without double counting, maintaining clarity in spending trends year-to-year.
While Medicaid disbursements rose across a variety of service types, in Santa Clarita, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment was the third largest category by total Medicaid spending in 2024.
Across California, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment was the fourth-largest Medicaid spending category in 2024.
From five years before 2024, Medicaid spending associated with Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment in Santa Clarita rose by $1,217,872—a 4676.2% climb. The pace of spending increased notably in certain intervals, especially in 2020 and 2021.
Though Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment services were accessed throughout Santa Clarita, the bulk of Medicaid billing came from a few ZIP codes. In 2024, those with the largest payments were 91350 at $1,151,581, 91321 with $59,394, and 91355 at $32,940. Combined, these 3 ZIP codes represented 100% of Medicaid payments connected to Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment in the city that year.
Payments within this category were also concentrated around a select group of billing codes.
Comparatively, the 874.1% rise in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category payments between 2024 and 2023 in Santa Clarita far exceeded the 11.3% growth rate seen across all Medicaid claims citywide in that span.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state spending on Medicaid totaled about $871.7 billion during the 2023 fiscal year, making up around 18% of U.S. health expenditures. This represented a significant rise from the $613.5 billion spent in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This roughly 40% expansion occurred over just a few years, mainly due to increased enrollment and greater usage tied to the impact and aftermath of the pandemic.
Bills passed during the Trump administration have included major budget reforms impacting Medicaid spending. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid over ten years, introducing requirements such as employment rules and higher cost-sharing that could restrict benefits and coverage for some recipients. These modifications are anticipated to place more responsibility on individual states and curb the growth of federal Medicaid contributions, even as millions still depend on the service.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $26,044 | 778.8% |
| 2021 | $69,006 | 165% |
| 2022 | $141,444 | 105% |
| 2023 | $127,693 | -9.7% |
| 2024 | $1,243,915 | 874.1% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $8,112,177 | 62.4% |
| 2 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $1,687,583 | 13% |
| 3 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $1,243,915 | 9.6% |
| 4 | Evaluation and Management | $624,108 | 4.8% |
| 5 | Anesthesia | $490,024 | 3.8% |
| 6 | Dental Services | $350,724 | 2.7% |
| 7 | Radiology Procedures | $217,993 | 1.7% |
| 8 | Procedures / Professional Services | $96,250 | 0.7% |
| 9 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $65,292 | 0.5% |
| 10 | Surgery | $53,912 | 0.4% |
| 11 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $40,731 | 0.3% |
| 12 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $7,374 | 0.1% |
| 13 | Vision Services | $6,309 | <0.1% |
| 14 | Temporary Codes | $2,940 | <0.1% |
| 15 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $2,908 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| H2019 | Ther behav svc, per 15 min | $802,300 | 11 |
| H0032 | Mh svc plan dev by non-md | $349,280 | 11 |
| H1001 | Antepartum management | $47,900 | 12 |
| H0043 | Supported housing, per diem | $32,940 | 8 |
| H1000 | Prenatal care atrisk assessm | $11,494 | 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.