Gould sees $388 in Medicaid Evaluation and Management payments in 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows that Medicaid providers in Gould billed $388 in 2024 for Evaluation and Management services. This marks a 1,452% increase versus 2023, when claims for those services totaled $25.

Medicaid operates as a public health insurance program with state administration and joint funding by federal and state governments. The program covers low-income individuals and families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities, making up a significant part of the U.S. health care system.

Since Medicaid spending is funded through taxpayer dollars, local billing trends show how public health dollars are spent in each community.

The “Evaluation and Management” classification comprises Medicaid services grouped by care type under defined HCPCS and CPT codes. In this reporting, each code was placed in a single service group using standard code prefixes and ranges, ensuring accurate service grouping and avoiding duplicate counts.

Evaluation and Management was the second largest category for Medicaid payments in Gould in 2024, despite overall spending growth elsewhere.

Across Arkansas, the Evaluation and Management category ranked fifth among all Medicaid service groups for payments in 2024.

Between the five-year span leading to 2024, Medicaid payments in Gould for Evaluation and Management services rose by $2,463, or 86.4%. Notable annual increases occurred in both 2022 and 2022, reflecting accelerated growth.

Although Evaluation and Management service spending was spread throughout the city, the majority of payments were reported in a few ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 71643 accounted for the entire $388, meaning Gould’s top ZIP code received 100.1% of all Medicaid payments in this category for the year.

A small group of billing codes within the Evaluation and Management category captured most Medicaid payments.

By comparison, while payments for Evaluation and Management services increased by 1,452% between 2024 and 2023 in Gould, the city saw a 77,768.6% change in total Medicaid claim categories during that period.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports federal and state Medicaid expenditures reached approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, representing around 18% of total U.S. health spending. That’s up sharply from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019, before the pandemic.

This growth of about 40% in just a few years was largely the result of rising enrollment and increased service use during and following the pandemic.

Recent federal budget measures during the Trump administration featured major proposals to reduce Medicaid funding and change the program structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. It also implements new requirements such as work provisions and greater cost-sharing, potentially limiting access and coverage for some users. These policy shifts are expected to place more fiscal responsibility on the states and limit growth in federal Medicaid support, even as program enrollment remains high.

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.