Belmar Medicaid payments for substance abuse treatment climb 228% in 2024

In 2024, Belmar Medicaid providers billed $101,833 for services in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category, based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This was a 228% increase compared with 2023, when claims for these services totaled $31,051.

Medicaid, a publicly funded health insurance program administered by individual states with support from both state and federal governments, covers low-income people and families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities. It is one of the largest funding sources in the U.S. health care system, serving millions nationwide.

Because taxpayer funds support Medicaid payments, changes in local billing volumes reveal how health care resources are allocated in the community.

The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category includes a defined set of Medicaid-billed services identified by care type, based on standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. For reporting and analysis, each code was grouped under a single service category using specific code prefixes and numerical ranges to track related services without overlap and to ensure proper rankings over multiple years.

Although Medicaid spending went up in various service categories, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment received the highest total Medicaid payments in Belmar for 2024.

Statewide in New Jersey, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment also led all categories in total Medicaid payments for the year.

From five years prior to 2024, Medicaid payments tied to Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment in Belmar rose by $101,833, or 0%. The pace of growth increased during certain years, particularly with noted year-over-year jumps in 2023 and 2022.

Within Belmar, spending on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment services occurred throughout the city, but the majority concentrated in a few ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 07719 logged the highest Medicaid payments for this service at $101,832, and the top ZIP code made up 100% of the city’s Medicaid payments in this category for the year.

Medicaid reimbursements within Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment also focused on a small number of billing codes.

Looking at all Medicaid claims in Belmar, payments for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment increased 228% from 2023 to 2024, while payments across all covered services in the city climbed 277.4% over the same period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total federal and state Medicaid expenditures were about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, accounting for roughly 18% of overall U.S. health care spending, a significant increase from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This represents growth of approximately 40% over a short period, mainly due to expanded enrollment and higher service use as the pandemic unfolded and its aftermath continued.

Federal budget bills during the Trump administration have included significant measures targeting reductions in federal Medicaid contributions and potential restructuring. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” becoming law in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion over a decade. The legislation establishes work requirements and increases cost-sharing, possibly leading to decreased coverage and funding for certain beneficiaries, and could shift more financial responsibility to states as the program supports 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.

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.