Wendell sees 48% jump in 2024 Medicaid Evaluation and Management payments

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Wendell billed $534,709 for Evaluation and Management services, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This amount reflects a 47.8% rise from 2023, when providers submitted $361,672 for these services.

Medicaid, a public health insurance program run by the states and funded together by federal and state governments, covers low-income individuals and families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities. It remains one of the largest elements of the U.S. health care system.

Since Medicaid payments are sourced from taxpayers, fluctuations in local billing levels indicate how community health care funds are distributed.

The “Evaluation and Management” category includes Medicaid-billed services grouped according to the type of care delivered, classified by HCPCS and CPT code groupings. For this report, every billing code was placed in a single service category using set code prefixes and numeric ranges, which helped group related services, eliminate duplicate counts, and maintain proper rankings over time.

Spending rose for several Medicaid service categories; however, Evaluation and Management accounted for the highest Medicaid payments in Wendell for 2024.

On a statewide basis in North Carolina, Evaluation and Management ranked second for total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid payments attributed to Evaluation and Management in Wendell grew by $190,553, or 55.4%. Spending increases accelerated during specific years, with pronounced year-over-year gains in 2020 and 2021.

Although spending on Evaluation and Management services occurred throughout Wendell, most of the payments were focused in a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 27591 accounted for $534,708 in Medicaid Evaluation and Management payments. Overall, the top ZIP code comprised 100% of such Medicaid payments in Wendell that year.

Within Evaluation and Management, Medicaid spending was concentrated among several individual billing codes.

For additional context, Medicaid payments linked to Evaluation and Management services in Wendell jumped 47.8% from 2023 to 2024, whereas overall Medicaid claim categories in the city saw a rise of 31.9% during that time.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that federal and state Medicaid spending reached approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, making up about 18% of total national health expenditures. This was a significant jump from nearly $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This nearly 40% growth in spending over a few years was largely caused by higher enrollment and increased use of services during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget acts under the Trump administration included major proposals to reduce federal Medicaid funding and revamp the program. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years. It also implements measures such as work requirements and greater cost-sharing, which could decrease coverage and funds for some recipients. These reforms may require states to take on greater financial responsibility while curbing federal growth, though Medicaid will continue to serve tens of millions nationwide.

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.