Dallastown sees $653 in Medicaid payments for pathology and lab procedures in 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows Medicaid providers in Dallastown billed $653 for Pathology and Laboratory Procedures in 2024. That amount reflects a 45.8% increase from 2023, when claims for the same category totaled $448.

Medicaid, a public insurance program operated by states with joint federal and state funding, covers low-income individuals and families, older adults, children, and people with disabilities. The program makes up a significant portion of the U.S. health care system.

As Medicaid is taxpayer-funded, fluctuations in local billing reveal how communities allocate health care spending.

The “Pathology and Laboratory Procedures” classification encompasses Medicaid service categories by type of care, using standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. Each billing code for this analysis fits one service category based on code groups, allowing trends to be tracked without double counting and with consistent rankings over time.

Medicaid spending rose across different service groups, with Pathology and Laboratory Procedures ranking as the second highest by total Medicaid payments in Dallastown for 2024.

Statewide in Pennsylvania, Pathology and Laboratory Procedures was ninth by overall Medicaid payments in 2024.

Looking at the five years before 2024, Medicaid payments for Pathology and Laboratory Procedures in Dallastown grew by $834, or 56.1%. Certain periods, such as year-over-year changes reported in 2022 and 2023, saw especially sharp increases.

Although these payments were distributed throughout Dallastown, the highest Medicaid payments tied to Pathology and Laboratory Procedures in 2024 were concentrated in ZIP code 17313, which recorded $653. This top ZIP code represented 100.1% of the city’s total Medicaid billing for the category that year.

Within Pathology and Laboratory Procedures, payments were focused around a small group of individual billing codes.

Medicaid payments connected to Pathology and Laboratory Procedures in Dallastown increased by 45.8% between 2024 and 2023, compared to an overall 28.5% change across all local Medicaid service categories for the same period.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data shows a combined federal and state Medicaid spending total of about $871.7 billion for fiscal year 2023, accounting for roughly 18% of nationwide health expenditures, up significantly from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019 before the COVID-19 public health emergency.

This rise represents around 40% growth over a handful of years, prompted largely by more people enrolling and greater service use during and after the pandemic.

Federal budget actions under the Trump administration introduced notable proposals aiming to decrease federal Medicaid dollars and fundamentally shift how the program operates. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which became law in 2025, includes projected federal Medicaid cuts reaching over $1 trillion in the next 10 years, and adds measures such as work requirements and increased cost-sharing, potentially impacting coverage and support levels. These policies could result in additional state spending responsibility and limit future federal Medicaid growth, even as the program continues supporting millions across the country.

Note: HCPCS codes are included to illustrate context within the service category. Category totals and rankings in this report rely on standardized service codes, not individual billing line items.

This article uses information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The original data source is available here.