In 2024, Medicaid providers in Santa Fe submitted $625,805 in claims for care categorized as Vision Services, as reported in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This amount marks a 35.1% increase compared to 2023, when $463,245 in these types of claims were recorded.
Medicaid, a public health insurance program financed through federal and state contributions, serves low-income residents, seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities, positioning it as one of the most significant components of the U.S. health care system.
Since Medicaid payments are taxpayer-funded, fluctuations in billing trends indicate how public health expenditures are allocated within local communities.
The “Vision Services” group encompasses a collection of Medicaid services identified primarily by the nature of care, utilizing standardized HCPCS and CPT coding frameworks. In this analysis, billing codes are assigned to a single service type based on code prefixes and corresponding numeric intervals, providing for reliable grouping, eliminating double-counting, and maintaining comparable rankings across years.
Although several Medicaid service categories saw higher spending, Vision Services held the 13th position in Santa Fe based on total Medicaid payments for 2024.
At the state level, Vision Services placed 16th among all Medicaid categories for total payments in New Mexico in 2024.
Over the five years through 2024, Medicaid payments related to Vision Services in Santa Fe increased by $432,828, or 224.3%. Noteworthy spending acceleration occurred during specific periods, most evidently in 2023 and 2021 with strong year-over-year increases.
The pattern of Vision Services-related Medicaid payments across Santa Fe showed geographic concentration in a handful of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP codes 87505 and 87507 accounted for all payments in this category, with totals of $542,200 and $83,604 respectively, making up 100% of the city’s total for Vision Services that year.
A limited range of billing codes received most of the Medicaid payments within the Vision Services category in Santa Fe.
For additional context, Medicaid payments for Vision Services in Santa Fe rose 35.1% from 2023 to 2024, while aggregate payments across all Medicaid claim types in the city increased by 16.6% over the same interval.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid spending totaled roughly $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023. This represented about 18% of all national health expenditures, up substantially from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019, just before the COVID-19 public health emergency.
This change represents a growth rate near 40% in a few years, mainly attributed to swelling enrollment and greater service use during and after the pandemic.
Recent federal budget actions under the Trump administration have introduced major proposals to reduce federal fiscal support for Medicaid and reconfigure its structure. Notably, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, projects more than $1 trillion in federal Medicaid funding cuts over the coming decade. The law institutes measures such as work requirements and increased cost-sharing, which analysts expect could decrease coverage and federal allocations for some recipients. These changes likely shift additional financial responsibility to states and constrain federal Medicaid growth, even as millions remain enrolled.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $192,977 | -19.8% |
| 2021 | $246,122 | 27.5% |
| 2022 | $269,298 | 9.4% |
| 2023 | $463,244 | 72% |
| 2024 | $625,805 | 35.1% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evaluation and Management | $16,501,087 | 23.8% |
| 2 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $14,033,717 | 20.2% |
| 3 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $10,928,385 | 15.8% |
| 4 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $8,501,641 | 12.3% |
| 5 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $3,964,299 | 5.7% |
| 6 | Procedures / Professional Services | $2,454,088 | 3.5% |
| 7 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $2,226,222 | 3.2% |
| 8 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $2,215,276 | 3.2% |
| 9 | Radiology Procedures | $2,133,946 | 3.1% |
| 10 | Durable Medical Equipment | $1,800,686 | 2.6% |
| 11 | Dental Services | $1,735,252 | 2.5% |
| 12 | Surgery | $807,713 | 1.2% |
| 13 | Vision Services | $625,805 | 0.9% |
| 14 | Temporary Codes | $551,704 | 0.8% |
| 15 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $315,361 | 0.5% |
| 16 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $259,278 | 0.4% |
| 17 | Enteral and Parenteral Therapy | $128,520 | 0.2% |
| 18 | Outpatient PPS | $118,247 | 0.2% |
| 19 | Orthotic Procedures and services | $32,882 | <0.1% |
| 20 | Durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) | $31,867 | <0.1% |
| 21 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $10,228 | <0.1% |
| 22 | Other Services | $0 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| V2020 | Vision svcs frames purchases | $369,159 | 85 |
| V2103 | Spherocylindr 4.00d/12-2.00d | $97,026 | 39 |
| V2784 | Lens polycarb or equal | $78,479 | 53 |
| V2104 | Spherocylindr 4.00d/2.12-4d | $50,573 | 26 |
| V2100 | Lens spher single plano 4.00 | $13,263 | 12 |
| V2105 | Spherocylinder 4.00d/4.25-6d | $10,010 | 9 |
| V2025 | Eyeglasses delux frames | $7,291 | 5 |
| V2410 | Lens variab asphericity sing | $0 | 3 |
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.
