In 2024, providers in Wenatchee billed $2,860,476 to Medicaid for services within the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represented an 88% increase from 2023, when claims for this service type totaled $1,521,654.
Medicaid is a state-administered public health insurance program funded jointly by federal and state governments. It provides coverage for low-income people and families, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, making it a significant part of the U.S. health system.
Since Medicaid dollars originate from taxpayers, fluctuations in local billing reflect the allocation of public health care spending within communities.
The “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment” category encompasses a range of Medicaid-billed services defined by care type, according to standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. For this analysis, each billing code was categorized by service type based on consistent code prefixes and numeric ranges, enabling related services to be grouped and preventing double counting while accurately ranking them over time.
While overall Medicaid costs increased in several categories, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment placed fifth in Wenatchee for total Medicaid payments in 2024.
Statewide in Washington, this category was fourth by total Medicaid payments in 2024.
Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid payments attributed to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category in Wenatchee grew by $1,520,081, or 113.4%. Growth accelerated in certain years, with substantial increases occurring in 2022 and 2023.
Though Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment expenses spanned the city, billing was highly concentrated in a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 98801 recorded $2,860,476 in Medicaid payments for this category, accounting for 100% of the associated spending in Wenatchee that year.
Medicaid payments within this category were also concentrated in relatively few individual billing codes.
Comparatively, Medicaid payments for the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category in Wenatchee grew 88% from 2023 to 2024, while payments across all Medicaid claim categories in the city increased by just 0.2% during the period.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, federal and state Medicaid spending together reached approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, representing about 18% of national health spending, up sharply from around $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
This jump amounts to about 40% growth in only a few years, primarily driven by higher enrollment and increased utilization during and following the pandemic.
Federal budget legislation enacted during the Trump administration has brought major proposals aimed at cutting federal Medicaid funding and restructuring the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade while introducing policy changes such as work requirements and greater cost-sharing, potentially impacting coverage and funding for certain beneficiaries. These measures could require states to shoulder more costs and slow future federal Medicaid spending, even as millions continue using the program.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $1,340,394 | 19.5% |
| 2021 | $314,396 | -76.5% |
| 2022 | $915,612 | 191.2% |
| 2023 | $1,521,654 | 66.2% |
| 2024 | $2,860,476 | 88% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $8,397,857 | 22.7% |
| 2 | Evaluation and Management | $7,782,288 | 21% |
| 3 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $5,301,018 | 14.3% |
| 4 | Procedures / Professional Services | $4,708,078 | 12.7% |
| 5 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $2,860,476 | 7.7% |
| 6 | Radiology Procedures | $1,627,910 | 4.4% |
| 7 | Surgery | $1,603,505 | 4.3% |
| 8 | Dental Services | $1,276,326 | 3.4% |
| 9 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $1,169,101 | 3.2% |
| 10 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $514,446 | 1.4% |
| 11 | Chemotherapy Drugs | $484,598 | 1.3% |
| 12 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $349,086 | 0.9% |
| 13 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $235,843 | 0.6% |
| 14 | Temporary Codes | $217,450 | 0.6% |
| 15 | Enteral and Parenteral Therapy | $208,213 | 0.6% |
| 16 | Outpatient PPS | $172,401 | 0.5% |
| 17 | Durable Medical Equipment | $83,058 | 0.2% |
| 18 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $39,305 | 0.1% |
| 19 | Orthotic Procedures and services | $24,565 | 0.1% |
| 20 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $6,857 | <0.1% |
| 21 | Vision Services | $1,462 | <0.1% |
| 22 | Durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) | $1,037 | <0.1% |
| 23 | Hearing Services | $297 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| H0017 | Alcohol and/or drug services | $1,966,057 | 11 |
| H0019 | Alcohol and/or drug services | $526,082 | 6 |
| H0004 | Alcohol and/or drug services | $194,153 | 52 |
| H2036 | A/d tx program, per diem | $83,449 | 9 |
| H0043 | Supported housing, per diem | $54,880 | 10 |
| H0001 | Alcohol and/or drug assess | $32,186 | 10 |
| H0046 | Mental health service, nos | $3,667 | 10 |
| H0032 | Mh svc plan dev by non-md | $0 | 11 |
| H0038 | Self-help/peer svc per 15min | $0 | 16 |
| H0047 | Alcohol/drug abuse svc nos | $0 | 2 |
| H2021 | Com wrap-around sv, 15 min | $0 | 2 |
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.
