Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows $1,451,065 in Medicaid payments statewide for Vision Services in Wisconsin in 2024. This was an 11.8% gain compared to 2023, when claims in the same category totaled $1,297,745.
Medicaid, jointly funded by state and federal governments and operated by each state, serves low-income people, older adults, children, and individuals with disabilities. It remains one of the primary components of health care infrastructure in the United States. More on how Medicaid is funded is available at the Commonwealth Fund.
Taxpayer dollars support Medicaid payments, so shifts in local Medicaid billing reflect how public resources are distributed in each area.
The Vision Services classification covers a set of care types within Medicaid, as defined by standardized CPT and HCPCS code groupings. This analysis grouped each billing code into a single service category based on code prefixes and number ranges, helping ensure consistent comparison across years and avoiding duplicate service counting.
Some categories may include several types of related services; when that occurs, the group consists of similar care often billed together, such as diagnostics, office visits or procedures under Medicaid.
Looking at the previous five years, Medicaid payments for Vision Services in Wisconsin grew by $997,815, equal to an increase of 220.1%. Some of the sharpest year-over-year jumps in payments within the state occurred in both 2021 and 2023.
Though Vision Services spending was distributed across Wisconsin, most payments clustered within a handful of ZIP codes. The ZIP codes with the highest Medicaid outlays for Vision Services in 2024 included 54601 with $127,520 (8.8% of the total), 54311 at $83,831 (5.8%), and 53406, totaling $76,076 (5.2%).
The combined Medicaid payments in these three ZIP codes accounted for 19.8% of all Vision Services-related Medicaid funding statewide for the year.
Statewide Medicaid payments in all claim categories rose 7.5% between 2023 and 2024 for comparison.
Throughout 2024, Vision Services was among Wisconsin’s 18 largest Medicaid service categories by payment value.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, joint federal and state Medicaid expenditures hit roughly $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, or close to 18% of all national health costs, up significantly from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This nearly 40% increase over several years has been largely fueled by growth in enrollment and use both during and following the pandemic.
Recent legislation at the federal level—such as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted under the Trump administration in 2025—aims to cut federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion in the coming decade. These changes introduce work requirements and more cost-sharing, which could result in reduced coverage for certain beneficiaries and a heavier financial burden on states, even while tens of millions continue to rely on Medicaid services nationwide.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,451,065 | 11.8% |
| 2023 | $1,297,745 | 27.6% |
| 2022 | $1,017,142 | 20.7% |
| 2021 | $843,047 | 86% |
| 2020 | $453,250 | 24.9% |
| 2019 | $362,959 | -11.8% |
| 2018 | $411,569 | N/A |
| ZIP Code | Medicaid Payments | % of State Total |
|---|---|---|
| 54601 | $127,520 | 8.8% |
| 54311 | $83,831 | 5.8% |
| 53406 | $76,076 | 5.2% |
| 53144 | $72,916 | 5% |
| 54303 | $70,460 | 4.9% |
| 53225 | $63,150 | 4.4% |
| 54220 | $49,282 | 3.4% |
| 53189 | $45,085 | 3.1% |
| 53221 | $43,293 | 3% |
| 53216 | $43,254 | 3% |
| 54915 | $39,879 | 2.7% |
| 54143 | $34,157 | 2.4% |
| 54914 | $33,532 | 2.3% |
| 53081 | $29,784 | 2.1% |
| 54913 | $27,078 | 1.9% |
| 53115 | $26,391 | 1.8% |
| 54880 | $25,975 | 1.8% |
| 54901 | $24,014 | 1.7% |
| 54304 | $23,177 | 1.6% |
| 53916 | $21,560 | 1.5% |
| 53105 | $21,468 | 1.5% |
| 54935 | $20,489 | 1.4% |
| 54022 | $19,853 | 1.4% |
| 53511 | $19,582 | 1.3% |
| 54751 | $19,184 | 1.3% |
| 53215 | $18,973 | 1.3% |
| 53094 | $18,336 | 1.3% |
| 53151 | $17,697 | 1.2% |
| 53704 | $17,626 | 1.2% |
| 54868 | $17,261 | 1.2% |
| 54313 | $16,903 | 1.2% |
| 54902 | $16,306 | 1.1% |
| 53085 | $14,375 | 1% |
| 53095 | $13,700 | 0.9% |
| 54981 | $13,432 | 0.9% |
| 53130 | $13,226 | 0.9% |
| 53024 | $13,095 | 0.9% |
| 53538 | $12,948 | 0.9% |
| 53142 | $12,218 | 0.8% |
| 54701 | $11,306 | 0.8% |
| 53072 | $11,274 | 0.8% |
| 53027 | $11,206 | 0.8% |
| 53719 | $10,939 | 0.8% |
| 54017 | $10,737 | 0.7% |
| 53214 | $10,628 | 0.7% |
| 54729 | $10,148 | 0.7% |
| 53716 | $7,770 | 0.5% |
| 53226 | $6,680 | 0.5% |
| 54166 | $6,620 | 0.5% |
| 54016 | $6,531 | 0.5% |
| 54494 | $6,015 | 0.4% |
| 53122 | $5,361 | 0.4% |
| 54401 | $5,111 | 0.4% |
| 54481 | $4,857 | 0.3% |
| 54467 | $4,845 | 0.3% |
| 53545 | $4,607 | 0.3% |
| 54115 | $4,568 | 0.3% |
| 53590 | $4,046 | 0.3% |
| 54937 | $3,951 | 0.3% |
| 54956 | $3,919 | 0.3% |
| 53901 | $3,503 | 0.2% |
| 54449 | $2,378 | 0.2% |
| 53566 | $2,351 | 0.2% |
| 54650 | $1,953 | 0.1% |
| 53190 | $1,762 | 0.1% |
| 53228 | $1,581 | 0.1% |
| 53073 | $1,554 | 0.1% |
| 53403 | $1,550 | 0.1% |
| 54501 | $1,527 | 0.1% |
| 54720 | $1,192 | 0.1% |
| 53083 | $864 | 0.1% |
| 53913 | $817 | 0.1% |
| 54656 | $423 | <0.1% |
| 54474 | $402 | <0.1% |
| 53714 | $295 | <0.1% |
| 53021 | $222 | <0.1% |
| 54301 | $220 | <0.1% |
| 53018 | $165 | <0.1% |
| 53158 | $102 | <0.1% |
This article relies on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Access the original dataset here.
