North Carolina Medicaid payments for Temporary Codes services reach $2.9 million in 2024

North Carolina Medicaid payments amounted to $2,859,995 for services within the Temporary Codes category in 2024, as reflected in figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represented a 23% jump from 2023, when providers recorded $2,325,722 in claims.

Serving low-income individuals, families, seniors, children and people with disabilities, Medicaid is a public health insurance program managed by states and funded through federal and state government partnership. It stands as a central pillar of the U.S. health care system.

Since Medicaid payments are sourced from taxpayer dollars, fluctuations in local billing show how public health dollars are spent across communities.

The Temporary Codes grouping includes specific Medicaid-billed services identified by type of care, organized using standard HCPCS and CPT code sets. Billing codes used in this analysis were categorized into a single service group using consistent code prefixes and number ranges to enable accurate trend monitoring and avoid duplicated counts.

Some categories can cover several related types of services. When this is the case, the grouping covers related care types often billed together in Medicaid, including office visits, diagnostic assessments, and therapeutic services.

From 2019 to 2024, Medicaid spending for Temporary Codes services in North Carolina grew by $60,011, a 2.1% gain. Growth in expenditures accelerated during some periods, with notable gains seen in both 2020 and 2023.

Although payment amounts for Temporary Codes services were seen in multiple areas, most of the spending was centered in specific ZIP codes. In 2024, the top ZIP codes for Medicaid Temporary Codes payments included 27514 ($651,505, making up 22.8% of the total), 28374 ($273,302, or 9.6%), and 27710 ($231,752, or 8.1%).

The leading three ZIP codes together represented 40.4% of the Medicaid spending for this category statewide during the year.

Statewide Medicaid spending for all claim types rose 3.2% between 2023 and 2024 for comparison.

Spending grew across several service segments, with Temporary Codes among the 19 highest service categories in the state by total payments in 2024.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, federal and state Medicaid spending together amounted to roughly $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, representing about 18% of total U.S. health expenditures. This reflects a sharp climb from $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic period.

This rise corresponds to about a 40% increase over a few years, largely credited to expansion in enrollment and greater services use during and after the pandemic.

New federal budget measures under the Trump administration include major proposals to trim Medicaid funding and restructure the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is expected to cut federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the coming decade. It introduces requirements such as work mandates and higher cost-sharing, potentially reducing coverage and support for some enrollees. These steps are projected to shift more expenses to states and may slow growth in federal Medicaid contributions while the program continues supporting tens of millions nationwide.