In 2024, Medicaid providers in Lancaster billed $4,350,769 for Dental Services, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represented a 4.7% rise compared with the prior year, when providers submitted $4,157,405 in claims within this service category.
Medicaid, a state-administered public health insurance funded jointly by state and federal governments, provides coverage for low-income individuals and families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, positioning it as one of the foundational programs in the U.S. health care system.
Since these payments originate from taxpayer funds, fluctuations in Medicaid billing shed light on the allocation of public health care resources throughout the community.
The “Dental Services” category encompasses services billed to Medicaid according to the specific care provided, referencing standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. For this analysis, each billing code falls into a single service category, grouped by recognized code prefixes and numeric ranges. This approach allows for bundled review of related services while preventing overlap and supporting consistent rankings across years.
Among several categories experiencing increases, Dental Services placed fifth in Lancaster for total Medicaid payments made in 2024.
For the state of California in 2024, Dental Services was ranked 11th by aggregate Medicaid payments.
Looking at the five-year period leading up to 2024, Medicaid spending in Lancaster’s Dental Services category climbed by $2,210,295, or 103.3%. Periods of accelerated growth were seen with large annual increases noted in both 2022 and 2021.
Spending related to Dental Services was found citywide but was predominantly directed into a small group of ZIP codes in 2024. Specifically, payments totaled $2,077,355 in ZIP code 93534, $1,310,396 in ZIP code 93535, and $963,016 in ZIP code 93536, accounting together for 100% of Lancaster’s Medicaid Dental Services outlay this year.
Medicaid payments within the Dental Services category were similarly concentrated among a select group of billing codes.
For added context, Dental Services saw a 4.7% rise in Medicaid payments in Lancaster between 2024 and 2023—compared with a 16.8% change spanning all Medicaid claim categories citywide during the same interval.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid spending reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023. This accounted for approximately 18% of total national health expenditures, marking a steep rise from around $613.5 billion in 2019—a period that preceded the onset of COVID-19.
This increase signals growth of roughly 40% in just a short span, mostly attributed to the expansion of enrollment and greater usage during and following the pandemic years.
Recent federal budget measures enacted under the Trump administration have introduced sizable proposals aimed at reducing federal Medicaid funding and altering the program’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is expected to trim more than $1 trillion from federal Medicaid spending over the next decade and includes changes such as work requirements and greater cost-sharing, which could limit coverage and funding for some recipients. These shifts are expected to increase obligations for states and slow the pace of federal Medicaid growth, even as the program remains vital to millions across the U.S.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $2,140,474 | -23.2% |
| 2021 | $2,781,999 | 30% |
| 2022 | $3,893,262 | 39.9% |
| 2023 | $4,157,404 | 6.8% |
| 2024 | $4,350,768 | 4.7% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evaluation and Management | $32,389,636 | 36.5% |
| 2 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $18,041,220 | 20.4% |
| 3 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $11,367,122 | 12.8% |
| 4 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $4,667,726 | 5.3% |
| 5 | Dental Services | $4,350,768 | 4.9% |
| 6 | Radiology Procedures | $3,876,400 | 4.4% |
| 7 | Anesthesia | $3,410,639 | 3.8% |
| 8 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $3,106,863 | 3.5% |
| 9 | Surgery | $1,957,975 | 2.2% |
| 10 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $1,411,270 | 1.6% |
| 11 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $1,396,346 | 1.6% |
| 12 | Procedures / Professional Services | $1,196,738 | 1.4% |
| 13 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $736,630 | 0.8% |
| 14 | Durable Medical Equipment | $365,231 | 0.4% |
| 15 | Temporary Codes | $210,151 | 0.2% |
| 16 | Vision Services | $60,584 | 0.1% |
| 17 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $35,066 | <0.1% |
| 18 | Pathology and Laboratory Services | $29,445 | <0.1% |
| 19 | Durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) | $20,456 | <0.1% |
| 20 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $15,751 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| D0120 | Periodic oral evaluation | $1,716,811 | 469 |
| D0150 | Comprehensve oral evaluation | $951,716 | 440 |
| D0230 | Intraoral periapical ea add | $577,178 | 530 |
| D0210 | Intraor comprehensive series | $359,143 | 262 |
| D0220 | Intraoral periapical first | $139,998 | 272 |
| D0274 | Bitewings four images | $135,699 | 195 |
| D0272 | Dental bitewings two images | $120,787 | 273 |
| D0603 | Caries risk assess high risk | $99,707 | 170 |
| D0350 | Oral/facial photo images | $70,144 | 147 |
| D0145 | Oral evaluation, pt < 3yrs | $68,480 | 48 |
| D0330 | Panoramic image | $68,002 | 129 |
| D0340 | 2d cephalometric image | $19,700 | 21 |
| D0140 | Limit oral eval problm focus | $15,540 | 28 |
| D0602 | Caries risk assess mod risk | $3,495 | 13 |
| D0601 | Caries risk assess low risk | $3,165 | 16 |
| D0270 | Dental bitewing single image | $1,200 | 16 |
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.
