In 2024, Medicaid providers in Tucson billed $4,866,425 for chemotherapy drug services, based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This amount represents a 10.1% rise compared with 2023, when providers filed $4,420,012 in claims for the same services.
Medicaid is a state-run public health insurance program, funded in partnership by state and federal governments. It provides coverage for low-income residents, families, elderly people, children, and those with disabilities, making it one of the nation’s largest health care programs.
Because taxpayer funds support Medicaid payments, shifts in community billing levels illustrate how public health care resources are distributed locally.
The “Chemotherapy Drugs” category encompasses a range of Medicaid-billed services grouped by care type, standardized using HCPCS and CPT code sets. Each code was classified into a specific service category through established prefixes and ranges for this analysis, enabling consistent comparisons and rankings over time while avoiding duplicate counts.
While several Medicaid service categories experienced higher spending, chemotherapy drugs placed 10th overall for Tucson by Medicaid payments in 2024.
Statewide in Arizona, chemotherapy drugs ranked 14th by total Medicaid payments in 2024.
Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid payments related to chemotherapy drugs in Tucson grew by $2,308,642, representing a 90.3% increase. Notably strong spending growth occurred in both 2022 and 2021, with significant year-over-year jumps.
Despite spending spread across Tucson, most payments for chemotherapy drug services were focused in a few ZIP codes in 2024. The leading ZIP codes were 85719, with $4,736,388; 85710, at $97,232; and 85712, with $32,803. Collectively, the top 3 ZIP codes accounted for the entirety of Tucson’s Medicaid payments for chemotherapy drug services that year.
Within the chemotherapy drugs category, payments were further concentrated around specific billing codes.
Comparatively, while Tucson saw a 10.1% boost for the chemotherapy drugs category between 2024 and 2023, all Medicaid claims citywide rose by 17.4% during the same timespan.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid spending stood at about $871.7 billion for fiscal 2023, equal to roughly 18% of U.S. health expenditures. This marks substantial growth from around $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The change amounts to an increase of nearly 40% over a few years, largely due to expanded program enrollment and higher utilization during and following the pandemic.
Recently, federal budget measures under the Trump administration have proposed major reductions to Medicaid funding and structural changes. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is set to reduce federal Medicaid funding by over $1 trillion over the next decade and introduces new requirements like work obligations and increased cost-sharing, potentially decreasing coverage and support for some groups. These policy shifts are expected to transfer more financial responsibility to states and could limit the growth of federal Medicaid support even as the program serves tens of millions of Americans.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $2,557,783 | -46.1% |
| 2021 | $2,768,428 | 8.2% |
| 2022 | $4,991,830 | 80.3% |
| 2023 | $4,420,012 | -11.5% |
| 2024 | $4,866,425 | 10.1% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $181,592,761 | 33.5% |
| 2 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $98,528,981 | 18.2% |
| 3 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $86,015,957 | 15.9% |
| 4 | Evaluation and Management | $67,891,848 | 12.5% |
| 5 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $27,642,798 | 5.1% |
| 6 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $22,751,165 | 4.2% |
| 7 | Radiology Procedures | $21,639,428 | 4% |
| 8 | Surgery | $10,289,801 | 1.9% |
| 9 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $5,428,657 | 1% |
| 10 | Chemotherapy Drugs | $4,866,425 | 0.9% |
| 11 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $3,797,184 | 0.7% |
| 12 | Outpatient PPS | $3,311,228 | 0.6% |
| 13 | Procedures / Professional Services | $3,280,407 | 0.6% |
| 14 | Durable Medical Equipment | $1,580,064 | 0.3% |
| 15 | Dental Services | $1,502,792 | 0.3% |
| 16 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $695,971 | 0.1% |
| 17 | Temporary Codes | $428,339 | 0.1% |
| 18 | Orthotic Procedures and services | $401,786 | 0.1% |
| 19 | Anesthesia | $383,827 | 0.1% |
| 20 | Prosthetic Procedures | $223,541 | <0.1% |
| 21 | Durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) | $170,332 | <0.1% |
| 22 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $75,170 | <0.1% |
| 23 | Diagnostic Radiology Services | $74,337 | <0.1% |
| 24 | Hearing Services | $39,611 | <0.1% |
| 25 | Enteral and Parenteral Therapy | $36,060 | <0.1% |
| 26 | Pathology and Laboratory Services | $9,579 | <0.1% |
| 27 | Coronavirus Diagnostic Panel | $3,036 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| J9271 | Inj pembrolizumab | $3,559,930 | 10 |
| J9144 | Daratumumab, hyaluronidase | $1,126,040 | 7 |
| J9035 | Bevacizumab injection | $130,036 | 74 |
| J9217 | Leuprolide acetate suspnsion | $28,752 | 5 |
| J9075 | Inj, cyclophosphamide, nos | $6,870 | 1 |
| J9045 | Carboplatin injection | $6,594 | 8 |
| J9202 | Goserelin acetate implant | $6,282 | 1 |
| J9263 | Oxaliplatin | $1,919 | 2 |
| J9190 | Fluorouracil injection | $0 | 4 |
| J9201 | In gemcitabine hcl nos 200mg | $0 | 1 |
| J9260 | Inj methotrexate sodium 50mg | $0 | 6 |
| J9267 | Paclitaxel injection | $0 | 6 |
| J9370 | Vincristine sulfate 1 mg inj | $0 | 5 |
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.
