In 2024, Medicaid providers in La Mesa submitted $8,256,513 in claims for anesthesia services, based on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This total represents a 6.3% increase from 2023, when anesthesia-related claims amounted to $7,764,745.
Medicaid is a public health insurance initiative managed by individual states and funded jointly by federal and state governments. The program covers low-income individuals and families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, making it a major component of the U.S. health care system.
Since Medicaid is financed by taxpayers, fluctuations in local billing reflect how public health funds are distributed within a community.
The “Anesthesia” classification encompasses Medicaid claims grouped by care type, using standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. Each code in this review was assigned to one service category, relying on uniform code prefixes and ranges to group related services, prevent duplicates, and maintain accurate trend rankings.
Despite experiencing growth across various categories, anesthesia placed fourth in La Mesa for total Medicaid payments in 2024.
Statewide, anesthesia ranked as the eighth highest Medicaid payment category across California in 2024.
Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid payments associated with anesthesia in La Mesa grew by $2,138,080, or 34.9%. Growth was faster in some periods, with substantial increases year-over-year in both 2023 and 2022.
Within La Mesa, anesthesia spending was geographically concentrated, with most payments arising from only a few ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP codes 91942 and 91941 accounted for all anesthesia-related Medicaid payments, with $8,239,048 and $17,464 respectively, combining for 100% of such payments in the city for the year.
Payments within the anesthesia group were focused on a small set of billing codes.
Comparatively, Medicaid anesthesia payments in La Mesa increased by 6.3% from 2023 to 2024, while all Medicaid claim categories in the city saw a 19.3% change during that period.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total federal and state Medicaid spending surpassed $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up about 18% of U.S. health expenditures. This is a significant increase from around $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
This rise represents approximately 40% growth over several years, largely due to increased enrollment and utilization during and after the pandemic.
Recent federal budget actions under the Trump administration have brought proposals aimed at reducing federal Medicaid contributions and restructuring the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to trim over $1 trillion from federal Medicaid funding over 10 years and establishes measures like work requirements and higher cost-sharing, which could limit coverage and funding for certain groups. As a result, states may bear more financial responsibility even as Medicaid continues to serve millions nationwide.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $6,118,432 | -36% |
| 2021 | $2,461,824 | -59.8% |
| 2022 | $3,761,613 | 52.8% |
| 2023 | $7,764,745 | 106.4% |
| 2024 | $8,256,513 | 6.3% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evaluation and Management | $13,901,359 | 24.5% |
| 2 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $8,649,727 | 15.3% |
| 3 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $8,366,434 | 14.8% |
| 4 | Anesthesia | $8,256,513 | 14.6% |
| 5 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $4,961,231 | 8.8% |
| 6 | Radiology Procedures | $4,318,303 | 7.6% |
| 7 | Surgery | $3,630,214 | 6.4% |
| 8 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $2,091,846 | 3.7% |
| 9 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $949,016 | 1.7% |
| 10 | Dental Services | $499,937 | 0.9% |
| 11 | Durable Medical Equipment | $228,300 | 0.4% |
| 12 | Procedures / Professional Services | $176,946 | 0.3% |
| 13 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $174,740 | 0.3% |
| 14 | Temporary Codes | $151,582 | 0.3% |
| 15 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $136,335 | 0.2% |
| 16 | Durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) | $72,368 | 0.1% |
| 17 | Chemotherapy Drugs | $57,579 | 0.1% |
| 18 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $10,753 | <0.1% |
| 19 | Vision Services | $4,310 | <0.1% |
| 20 | Coronavirus Diagnostic Panel | $1,434 | <0.1% |
| 21 | Orthotic Procedures and services | $746 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0450 | $7,233,204 | 402 | |
| 0160 | $244,363 | 3 | |
| 0360 | $224,700 | 6 | |
| 0519 | $165,948 | 33 | |
| 0762 | $165,211 | 4 | |
| 0760 | $107,266 | 44 | |
| 0710 | $64,676 | 7 | |
| 0721 | $19,108 | 8 | |
| 00142 | Anes px on eye lens surgery | $13,290 | 7 |
| 0250 | $5,920 | 11 | |
| 0761 | $5,432 | 6 | |
| 00145 | Anes px eye vitreortnl surg | $3,383 | 2 |
| 0270 | $1,947 | 1 | |
| 00103 | Anes rcnstv px eyelid | $1,339 | 2 |
| 00140 | Anes procedures on eye nos | $721 | 1 |
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.
