Nashua Medicaid spending on pathology and lab services rises 11.1% to $802,802 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Nashua billed a total of $802,802 for Pathology and Laboratory Procedures, based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represented an 11.1% increase over 2023, when $722,304 was billed for the same category of service.

Medicaid is a state-administered health insurance program jointly funded by federal and state governments. The program provides coverage for low-income families and individuals, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, making it a major component of the U.S. health care system.

Because taxpayer funds support Medicaid, fluctuations in local billing amounts highlight the ways public health care funding is distributed within communities.

The “Pathology and Laboratory Procedures” category includes Medicaid services grouped by the care provided, with codes designated using standardized HCPCS and CPT group prefixes and number ranges. For this report, each billing code was mapped to a particular service category in a consistent manner, ensuring related services were grouped without duplication and that category rankings remained accurate over time.

Though Medicaid spending grew in several categories, Pathology and Laboratory Procedures ranked sixth in Nashua for total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Statewide in New Hampshire, Pathology and Laboratory Procedures was the 11th largest category by Medicaid payments in 2024.

Throughout the five years preceding 2024, Nashua saw Medicaid payments tied to Pathology and Laboratory Procedures rise by $77,386, or 8.8%. Notable growth spurts occurred in both 2022 and 2021, with year-over-year spending increases recorded.

Payments for Pathology and Laboratory Procedures were generally distributed across Nashua but concentrated mainly in specific ZIP codes. In 2024, Medicaid payments tied to this category were highest in ZIP code 03060 at $787,115, followed by 03063 with $8,481 and 03065 with $7,204. Combined, these 3 ZIP codes made up 100% of the city’s Medicaid payments for Pathology and Laboratory Procedures during the year.

Medicaid payments in this category were also focused among relatively few individual billing codes.

Comparatively, the 11.1% rise in Nashua’s Medicaid Pathology and Laboratory Procedures spending between 2024 and 2023 was slightly below the 13.7% increase seen across all Medicaid claim categories in the city for the same timeframe.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total Medicaid spending by federal and state governments was about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up roughly 18% of national health expenditures and rising sharply from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This growth amounts to an increase of nearly 40% over a few years, primarily driven by expanded enrollment and higher service use related to the pandemic and its aftermath.

Federal budget legislation passed during the Trump administration featured major proposals to cut Medicaid funding and change the program’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, aims to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over 10 years, introducing requirements such as additional work mandates and higher cost-sharing, which could reduce benefits and funding for some recipients. These policy changes are forecast to increase states’ financial responsibility and restrict federal Medicaid growth, even as the program remains central for millions of Americans.

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.