Providers in Sterling billed $621,088 to Medicaid for services in the Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) category in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. That amount was up 90.3% from 2023, when claims for these services totaled $326,372.
Medicaid, which is administered by states and jointly financed by federal and state governments, offers health coverage to low-income households, seniors, children and people with disabilities. This program is one of the largest cost centers in the U.S. health system. For more details on Medicaid financing, see the explainer here.
Since Medicaid is funded by taxpayers, changes in local billing reveal how public health care funds are directed within a community.
The “Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare)” group is a set of Medicaid-billed services identified through standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings, based on the types of care provided. Each code was assigned a unique service category using designated code prefixes and numeric intervals for analysis, so related care could be tracked while preventing double counting and ensuring accurate rankings across years.
Although Medicaid expenditures increased across several service types, payments for Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) held the No. 3 position among Sterling’s Medicaid payment categories in 2024.
Statewide, this category was sixth in Colorado when ranked by total Medicaid payments for 2024.
Medicaid payments connected to Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) in Sterling climbed by $373,306, an increase of 150.7%, over the five years preceding 2024. The years 2023 and 2020 saw especially sharp year-over-year advances.
Spending on Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) services was distributed through the city, but was concentrated in a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 80751 generated $621,088 in such Medicaid payments, accounting for 100% of annual Medicaid billing in this service category for Sterling.
Within the Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) category, most Medicaid funds were tied to a narrow selection of individual billing codes.
Compared to a citywide rate of 11.3% growth across all Medicaid claim categories, Sterling’s payments for Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) jumped by 90.3% from 2023 to 2024.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total Medicaid spending at the federal and state levels reached about $871.7 billion in FY 2023, comprising about 18% of total national health outlays—up significantly from around $613.5 billion in 2019, before the pandemic.
This increase of close to 40% over a few years was largely driven by expanded enrollment and greater utilization during and after the COVID-19 period.
Recent federal legislation under the Trump administration brought forward major proposals to reduce federal Medicaid outlays and alter program structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is projected to reduce federal Medicaid funding by more than $1 trillion in the next 10 years while instituting policies such as work requirements and higher cost-sharing. These changes could reduce benefits and funding for some recipients, shifting costs to states and restricting growth in federal Medicaid support, despite the continued service to tens of millions across the country.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $247,781 | 39% |
| 2021 | $155,091 | -37.4% |
| 2022 | $200,737 | 29.4% |
| 2023 | $326,372 | 62.6% |
| 2024 | $621,088 | 90.3% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $3,752,400 | 58.7% |
| 2 | Evaluation and Management | $915,058 | 14.3% |
| 3 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $621,088 | 9.7% |
| 4 | Dental Services | $263,311 | 4.1% |
| 5 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $245,331 | 3.8% |
| 6 | Durable Medical Equipment | $212,043 | 3.3% |
| 7 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $140,875 | 2.2% |
| 8 | Temporary Codes | $139,037 | 2.2% |
| 9 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $91,314 | 1.4% |
| 10 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $8,210 | 0.1% |
| 11 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $3,133 | <0.1% |
| 12 | Radiology Procedures | $2,062 | <0.1% |
| 13 | Procedures / Professional Services | $989 | <0.1% |
| 14 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $241 | <0.1% |
| 15 | Surgery | $87 | <0.1% |
| 16 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $0 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| S5130 | Homaker service nos per 15m | $611,980 | 11 |
| S9123 | Nursing care in home rn | $9,107 | 2 |
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.
