Big Lake Medicaid spending for pathology, lab procedures rises to $6,609 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Big Lake billed $6,609 for services under the Pathology and Laboratory Procedures category, as shown by data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represented a 72.8% rise from 2023, when providers submitted $3,824 in claims for similar services.

Medicaid, a public health insurance initiative financed together by federal and state governments, covers low-income people and families, seniors, children, and those with disabilities. It remains one of the most substantial programs in the U.S. health care system.

As Medicaid payments are sourced from taxpayers, fluctuations in local billing reveal how public health funding is directed within a community.

The “Pathology and Laboratory Procedures” category encompasses Medicaid-billed services identified by type of care, aligned with standardized HCPCS and CPT coding groups. In this report, billing codes were mapped to individual service categories using consistent code prefixes and numeric types, facilitating related-service analyses, avoiding overlap, and supporting historical ranking accuracy.

Although Medicaid expenditures rose across several categories, Pathology and Laboratory Procedures was the second-highest by total Medicaid payments in Big Lake for 2024.

Statewide in Texas, Pathology and Laboratory Procedures held the sixth position by total Medicaid reimbursements for 2024.

Over the five years before 2024, Medicaid payments linked to Pathology and Laboratory Procedures in Big Lake grew by $6,609, or 0%. Periods of accelerated spending occurred, especially with substantial jumps in 2023 and 2022.

Spending for care in the Pathology and Laboratory Procedures category was spread throughout the city, though a small group of ZIP codes saw the most payments. In 2024, ZIP code 76932 accounted for $6,609 in Medicaid disbursements. Altogether, this ZIP code represented 100% of Medicaid payments within the Pathology and Laboratory Procedures category for Big Lake during the year.

Within this category, Medicaid payments were concentrated in a relatively small set of billing codes.

Between 2024 and 2023, Medicaid outlays for Pathology and Laboratory Procedures in Big Lake rose by 72.8%. For comparison, all Medicaid claim categories in the city saw a 61.6% change during that time.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that combined federal and state Medicaid expenditures reached around $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up about 18% of total U.S. health spending—a large rise from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This represents an increase of nearly 40% across a few years, propelled by expanded Medicaid rolls and higher health care utilization in and after the pandemic period.

Federal budget legislation enacted during the Trump administration included substantial proposals to curtail federal Medicaid funding and restructure the program. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed in 2025, is expected to cut federal Medicaid funding by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years. It also introduces work requirements and greater cost-sharing, potentially reducing coverage and funding for some beneficiaries. As a result, states could bear more financial responsibility while the rate of federal Medicaid expansion slows—even as the program continues to serve millions across the country.

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.