Medicaid spending on non-oral drug services in Walnut Creek grows 8.8% in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Walnut Creek billed $8,557,623 for services categorized as Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represented an 8.8% rise over 2023, when providers filed $7,863,545 in claims for the same category.

Medicaid is a public health insurance initiative managed at the state level and financed in partnership by federal and state governments. Covering low-income groups, seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities, it is among the largest components of the U.S. health care system.

Since Medicaid is supported with taxpayer funding, changes in local billing provide a window into how public health dollars are distributed in a given community.

The “Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method” designation includes a specific set of Medicaid-billable services, which are defined by care type based on HCPCS and CPT code groupings. This analysis used consistent code prefixes and numeric ranges to assign each billing code to one service category, helping organize related services for comparison and ensuring accurate categorization over time.

While several service types saw higher Medicaid spending, Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method ranked fourth in Walnut Creek by total Medicaid payments during 2024.

Statewide, this category was the 14th largest by Medicaid payment volume in California in 2024.

From 2019 through 2024, Medicaid payments associated with this category in Walnut Creek rose by $5,203,280, or 155.1%. There were significant increases in certain years, including 2021 and 2022.

Spending for care in the Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method category was focused in a small number of Walnut Creek ZIP codes. In 2024, the highest Medicaid payments were recorded in ZIP code 94598 with $8,512,297, ZIP code 94596 with $42,281, and ZIP code 94597 with $3,043. Collectively, these top 3 ZIP codes represented 100% of payments for this service group in Walnut Creek that year.

Within the category, a few billing codes accounted for most Medicaid payments.

For additional perspective, the 8.8% year-over-year increase in this category compared to a 62.6% change for all Medicaid claim categories in Walnut Creek over the same period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined state and federal Medicaid expenditures reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, making up approximately 18% of all national health care spending—up from about $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This reflects roughly 40% growth over several years, driven largely by expanded enrollment and increased usage during and after the pandemic period.

Recent federal budget measures during the Trump administration introduced major proposals to decrease Medicaid support and restructure the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to cut more than $1 trillion from federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, while instituting policies like work requirements and greater cost-sharing that may reduce coverage and funding for certain beneficiaries. These adjustments are anticipated to shift costs more heavily to states and may constrain federal Medicaid growth, even as the program remains vital for tens of 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.