In 2024, Medicaid providers in Beaufort reported $1,387,401 in claims for services listed under the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment category, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This figure represents a 2.3% uptick from 2023, when $1,355,606 in claims were filed for these services.
Medicaid is a state-run public health insurance program, financed jointly by state and federal governments. Its coverage extends to individuals and families with low incomes, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, making it one of the largest components of the U.S. health care infrastructure.
Because taxpayer funding supports Medicaid payments, shifts in community billing show how public health dollars are distributed locally.
The “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment” category groups Medicaid-billed services by type of care, based on standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. For this analysis, each code was uniquely assigned to one service category according to its prefix and numeric sequence, enabling the aggregation of related services and consistent year-over-year rankings.
While overall Medicaid payments rose across several categories, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment was the fifth-largest category by total Medicaid payments in Beaufort during 2024.
Statewide in South Carolina, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment ranked sixth for total Medicaid payments in 2024.
From 2019 to 2024, Medicaid spending in Beaufort for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment services grew by $773,141, a 125.9% increase. Significant spending jumps occurred during various years, particularly in 2022 and 2023.
Payments for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment services were distributed throughout Beaufort, but most funds were directed to particular ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 29906 saw $885,680 in claims and ZIP code 29902 had $501,720, with these two ZIP codes accounting for the entire amount billed for the category in Beaufort that year.
The majority of Medicaid payments within Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment were tied to a small group of billing codes.
Between 2024 and 2023, Medicaid payments for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment in Beaufort increased by 2.3%, while overall Medicaid claim categories in the city saw a 21.4% change in the same period.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in fiscal year 2023, combined federal and state Medicaid expenditures reached about $871.7 billion, making up roughly 18% of national health costs. This is a notable rise from around $613.5 billion in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The data indicate a growth of nearly 40% in a few years, attributed mainly to broader program enrollment and greater use of health services during and following the pandemic.
Recent federal budget measures passed under the Trump administration introduced proposals to reduce federal Medicaid outlays and change program structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to decrease federal Medicaid expenditures by over $1 trillion over the next decade and establishes new policies such as work requirements and increased cost-sharing. These measures may limit coverage and funding for some beneficiaries and are likely to shift a greater share of costs to the states, placing constraints on the future growth of federal Medicaid support as the program continues serving millions nationwide.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $614,260 | -42.4% |
| 2021 | $506,237 | -17.6% |
| 2022 | $1,098,749 | 117% |
| 2023 | $1,355,605 | 23.4% |
| 2024 | $1,387,401 | 2.3% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $5,468,852 | 30.1% |
| 2 | Evaluation and Management | $4,687,418 | 25.8% |
| 3 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $3,221,684 | 17.7% |
| 4 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $2,260,516 | 12.4% |
| 5 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $1,387,401 | 7.6% |
| 6 | Surgery | $367,603 | 2% |
| 7 | Radiology Procedures | $203,434 | 1.1% |
| 8 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $179,025 | 1% |
| 9 | Temporary Codes | $128,858 | 0.7% |
| 10 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $128,772 | 0.7% |
| 11 | Procedures / Professional Services | $60,293 | 0.3% |
| 12 | Durable Medical Equipment | $42,850 | 0.2% |
| 13 | Dental Services | $37,986 | 0.2% |
| 14 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $3,871 | <0.1% |
| 15 | Durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) | $2,049 | <0.1% |
| 16 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $1,017 | <0.1% |
| 17 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $0 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| H2026 | Supp maint employ, per diem | $761,241 | 12 |
| H0031 | Mh health assess by non-md | $474,994 | 12 |
| H2016 | Comp comm supp svc, per diem | $124,438 | 8 |
| H2011 | Crisis interven svc, 15 min | $15,018 | 6 |
| H0032 | Mh svc plan dev by non-md | $11,707 | 10 |
Note: HCPCS codes are presented to provide context within the category. The totals and rankings referenced in this article rely on standardized service groupings, not on individual billing codes.
Information reported in this article is drawn from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The underlying data is accessible here.