Hermitage Medicaid spending on Vision Services surges to $39,228 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Hermitage billed $39,228 for Vision Services, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This figure represents a 350.4% jump from 2023, when $8,710 in claims were filed for similar services.

Medicaid is a government health insurance program overseen by states and jointly funded by federal and state levels. It serves low-income families and individuals, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, making it one of the largest elements of the U.S. health care system.

Shifts in Medicaid billing locally reflect how taxpayer-supported health care dollars are spent within the community.

The Vision Services category comprises services that are billed through Medicaid and grouped by the nature of care provided, as designated by specific HCPCS and CPT code clusters. For this report, every code was assigned to a specific service category using unified code prefixes and number intervals, which ensured related services were grouped accurately without duplication and enabled reliable trend analysis.

While Medicaid spending climbed across several types of services, Vision Services was ranked sixth overall in Hermitage for total payments in 2024.

Across Pennsylvania, Vision Services stood 17th in total Medicaid payments for the year.

Analyzing a five-year period before 2024, Medicaid payments tied to Vision Services in Hermitage grew by $32,229, or 460.5%. Growth rates quickened during select periods, with pronounced increases identified in both 2021 and 2022.

Although Vision Services spending occurred citywide, payments were concentrated mainly within a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 16148 recorded the highest Medicaid spending in this category, totaling $39,227. The top ZIP code accounted for 100% of Hermitage Vision Services payments for the year.

A handful of billing codes had the bulk of Medicaid payments within the Vision Services category.

By comparison, payment growth for Vision Services in Hermitage reached 350.4% between 2024 and 2023, much higher than the overall 4% change affecting all Medicaid claim types within the city that year.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined state and federal Medicaid expenditures totaled approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up about 18% of total U.S. health care expenses. That is a sharp rise from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The jump equates to growth around 40% in a few years, largely attributed to more enrollees and higher service usage during and after the pandemic.

Legislation passed during the Trump administration introduced major changes affecting Medicaid structure and financing. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is estimated to cut over $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending in the next 10 years and includes measures such as work requirements and stepped-up cost-sharing, potentially curbing benefits and funding for some enrollees. Those shifts may move more funding responsibilities to states and slow growth of federal Medicaid grants, while the program continues to cover tens of millions nationwide.

Note: HCPCS codes are presented for reference within each category. The rankings and sum totals described rely on standardized service groupings for accuracy, not on separated individual billing codes.

This article incorporates data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. View the source data here.