California sees 1.8% uptick in Medicaid spending for Medical And Surgical Supplies in 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database show that in 2024, Medicaid payments statewide in California for services in the Medical And Surgical Supplies category reached $203,751,031. This was a 1.8% rise from the prior year, when claims totaled $200,129,120.

Medicaid is a government-run health insurance program operated by the states and funded through combined federal and state funds. The program serves low-income individuals and families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, making it a substantial component of the U.S. health care landscape.

Since Medicaid funding is sourced from taxpayers, variations in local billing illustrate where public dollars for health care are allocated by community.

The “Medical And Surgical Supplies” service category is defined using standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings, representing similar care types for Medicaid-billed services. Each code is classified under one service category using set code prefixes and numeric ranges to ensure related services are grouped appropriately, prevent double counting, and maintain consistency in ranking over time.

Some categories may cover varied underlying services. Where relevant, the category includes closely related forms of care that are commonly billed together under Medicaid, including office visits, diagnostic tests and therapeutic procedures.

Across the five years leading up to 2024, Medicaid payments linked to Medical And Surgical Supplies in California grew by $82,270,312, or 67.7%. There were particularly strong annual increases in 2020 and 2023, driving this growth trend.

Although payments for Medical And Surgical Supplies services were spread throughout California, a relatively small number of ZIP codes accounted for the majority. In 2024, ZIP Code 90501 saw the highest Medicaid payments for these services at $47,243,143 (23.2% of total), followed by ZIP Code 91355 with $19,315,238 (9.5% of total), and ZIP Code 91710 at $18,223,278 (8.9% of total).

The three highest-paying ZIP codes together made up 41.6% of California’s total Medicaid spending on Medical And Surgical Supplies for the year.

For context, total Medicaid payments for all services statewide grew by 4.3% from 2023 to 2024.

While spending rose across several service categories, Medical And Surgical Supplies ranked among the top 13 Medicaid service categories by total payments in California in 2024.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined spending by federal and state governments for Medicaid was approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023. This represented about 18% of all national health spending, sharply higher than the roughly $613.5 billion spent in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This increase equates to nearly 40% growth in just a few years, largely due to expanded enrollment and increased utilization during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget measures under the Trump administration have included major plans to cut federal Medicaid spending and change the program’s structure. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid funding by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. The act introduces requirements such as work mandates and greater cost-sharing, which could decrease coverage and funding for certain beneficiaries. These adjustments are anticipated to shift additional responsibility to states and slow federal growth for Medicaid, even as the program remains a crucial resource for many Americans.

Information for this report came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Source data is available here.