Pathology and laboratory Medicaid payments in Scobey rise to $385 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Scobey billed $385 for services listed under Pathology and Laboratory Procedures, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represents a 563.8% increase over the previous year, when claims for the same set of services totaled $58.

Medicaid operates as a public insurance program managed by states and financed in partnership by federal and state governments. It serves individuals and families with low income, seniors, children, and people living with disabilities, making it a key component of the U.S. health system.

Local variations in Medicaid spending highlight how taxpayer-funded health care resources are distributed throughout communities.

The Pathology and Laboratory Procedures category groups Medicaid claims by the nature of care provided, using standardized HCPCS and CPT code ranges. In this analysis, each billing code was assigned to a single service group based on its code prefix and numbers, which kept related services together for trend analysis, prevented double counting, and maintained accurate ranking comparisons.

Medicaid spending grew across several service areas, with Pathology and Laboratory Procedures ranking second in Scobey by total payments in 2024.

At the state level, Pathology and Laboratory Procedures placed eighth in Montana by Medicaid payment totals in 2024.

Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid spending on Pathology and Laboratory Procedures in Scobey increased by $289, or 301%. The rate of growth accelerated during specific periods, with significant year-over-year gains noted in 2021 and 2022.

Payments for Pathology and Laboratory Procedures were delivered throughout Scobey but were largely concentrated in a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 59263 accounted for all $385 in Medicaid payments tied to this category. The top ZIP code made up 100% of the total for these services in Scobey for the year.

Medicaid payments in the Pathology and Laboratory Procedures category focused on a small selection of individual billing codes.

For additional perspective, Medicaid payments for this category in Scobey climbed 563.8% from 2023 to 2024, while all Medicaid categories in the city saw an 11.7% change over the same period.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported that combined federal and state Medicaid spending totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up roughly 18% of national health care expenditures. That figure was up from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This growth represents about a 40% increase in a short span, driven mostly by higher enrollment and service use during and after the pandemic.

Recently passed federal budget measures under the Trump administration included major proposals to decrease federal Medicaid funding and alter the program’s structure. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion in the coming decade. It also introduces policies like work requirements and enhanced cost-sharing that could curb coverage and funding for some users. These changes will likely shift additional costs to states and slow federal Medicaid growth, though the program continues to serve tens of millions nationwide.

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.