In 2024, Medicaid providers in Sherwood reported a total of $1,029,541 billed for services grouped under the Pathology and Laboratory Procedures category, based on figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represented a 30.2% uptick compared to the prior year, when providers billed $790,566 for the same services.
Medicaid, a public insurance initiative managed by individual states and funded through federal and state resources, delivers coverage for low-income people, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, establishing it as one of the nation’s largest health care programs.
Since Medicaid financing relies on taxpayer support, trends in local billing levels indicate how health care resources are distributed within communities.
The “Pathology and Laboratory Procedures” label covers a range of Medicaid services determined by the nature of care provided, organized through standardized HCPCS and CPT billing code groupings. In this review, each billing code was placed into a single category using established code prefixes and numeric spans, grouping similar services for analysis, preventing overlap, and maintaining consistent rankings year over year.
Medicaid spending rose across various service categories, with Pathology and Laboratory Procedures finishing as the No. 2 Medicaid payment category in Sherwood for 2024.
Statewide in Arkansas, Pathology and Laboratory Procedures placed sixth by total Medicaid payment volume in 2024.
For the five years preceding 2024, Sherwood’s Medicaid payments for Pathology and Laboratory Procedures rose by $765,855—an increase of 290.4%. Several years during that span saw particularly strong growth, especially in 2022 and 2023.
Though spending in this category occurred throughout Sherwood, a small number of ZIP codes saw the highest payment concentrations. In 2024, the ZIP code 72120 accounted for $1,029,540 in Medicaid payments for Pathology and Laboratory Procedures, representing 100% of the city’s total category payments for that year.
Payments within the Pathology and Laboratory Procedures grouping were heavily focused on a limited selection of individual billing codes.
By comparison, Medicaid reimbursements for this category in Sherwood rose 30.2% from 2023 to 2024, versus a 14.4% change reported across all Medicaid claim categories in the city in the same span.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, joint federal and state Medicaid expenditures reached around $871.7 billion for fiscal 2023, accounting for 18% of national health spending. That’s up from $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 emergency.
This difference illustrates roughly 40% program growth in only a few years, largely attributed to broadened enrollment and increased utilization during and following the pandemic.
Federal budget policies adopted under the Trump administration have incorporated major proposals to reduce national Medicaid funding and modify the program. As an example, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed in 2025, is expected to decrease federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over 10 years, imposing new work requirements and additional cost-sharing measures that could shrink access and funding for certain recipients. The legislation is likely to leave states with a greater financial role and control the increase in federal Medicaid funding, impacting support for millions still dependent on the program.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $263,686 | -16.5% |
| 2021 | $339,277 | 28.7% |
| 2022 | $596,261 | 75.7% |
| 2023 | $790,566 | 32.6% |
| 2024 | $1,029,540 | 30.2% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evaluation and Management | $1,207,640 | 26.2% |
| 2 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $1,029,540 | 22.3% |
| 3 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $794,324 | 17.2% |
| 4 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $761,896 | 16.5% |
| 5 | Dental Services | $235,762 | 5.1% |
| 6 | Durable Medical Equipment | $217,150 | 4.7% |
| 7 | Durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) | $176,439 | 3.8% |
| 8 | Radiology Procedures | $93,410 | 2% |
| 9 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $66,275 | 1.4% |
| 10 | Surgery | $11,922 | 0.3% |
| 11 | Procedures / Professional Services | $7,108 | 0.2% |
| 12 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $6,201 | 0.1% |
| 13 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $1,058 | <0.1% |
| 14 | Pathology and Laboratory Services | $259 | <0.1% |
| 15 | Temporary Codes | $0 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80307 | Drug test prsmv chem anlyzr | $87,169 | 12 |
| 80361 | Opiates 1 or more | $59,776 | 12 |
| 80356 | Heroin metabolite | $56,063 | 12 |
| 80346 | Benzodiazepines1-12 | $47,661 | 12 |
| 80348 | Drug screening buprenorphine | $47,321 | 12 |
| 80354 | Drug screening fentanyl | $47,029 | 12 |
| 80358 | Drug screening methadone | $46,209 | 12 |
| 80363 | Opioids & opiate analogs 3/4 | $43,771 | 12 |
| 80365 | Drug screening oxycodone | $40,192 | 12 |
| 80325 | Amphetamines 3or 4 | $37,949 | 12 |
| 80353 | Drug screening cocaine | $36,630 | 12 |
| 80359 | Methylenedioxyamphetamines | $33,106 | 12 |
| 80373 | Drug screening tramadol | $32,224 | 12 |
| 85025 | Complete cbc w/auto diff wbc | $29,924 | 58 |
| 80355 | Gabapentin non-blood | $28,988 | 12 |
| 80357 | Ketamine and norketamine | $28,976 | 12 |
| 80370 | Skel musc relaxant 3 or more | $28,828 | 12 |
| 80360 | Methylphenidate | $28,581 | 12 |
| 80349 | Cannabinoids natural | $25,841 | 12 |
| 80368 | Sedative hypnotics | $23,295 | 12 |
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.
