Davidson Medicaid dental spending rises to $21,132 in 2024

Providers in Davidson billed Medicaid $21,132 for services under the Dental Services category in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This figure represents a 46.4% rise compared to 2023, when claims for the same services reached $14,433.

Medicaid, a joint state and federal public health insurance program, serves low-income people, seniors, children and those with disabilities. The program is one of the largest segments of the U.S. health system and is funded by federal and state governments together.

Since Medicaid is taxpayer funded, shifts in local billing patterns shed light on the allocation of public health resources within a community.

The Dental Services category includes grouped Medicaid-billed services that are defined by the specific care type, using standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. In this analysis, each billing code was placed into a single service group via consistent prefixes and numeric designations, enabling assessment of related services together while avoiding repeated counting and ensuring consistent rankings over time.

Medicaid spending rose across several service types, but Dental Services was the fifth-largest category in Davidson based on total Medicaid payments for 2024.

Statewide, Dental Services was the ninth-highest Medicaid payment category in North Carolina in 2024.

From five years prior to 2024, Medicaid payments for Dental Services in Davidson expanded by $17,544, a growth rate of 489%. The pace of spending growth increased at certain points, especially in 2021 and 2020.

Although Dental Services payments were disbursed throughout the city, most were concentrated in a few ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 28036 accounted for $21,132 in Medicaid Dental Services claims, making up 100% of such payments in Davidson that year.

Among Dental Services, Medicaid reimbursements were also centered in a few billing codes.

When compared with other medical claim categories in Davidson, Medicaid payments for Dental Services rose 46.4% from 2023 to 2024, whereas overall Medicaid claims citywide increased by 32.2% in the same timeframe.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that combined federal and state Medicaid spending reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023. This made up around 18% of all national health expenditures, notably higher than the roughly $613.5 billion recorded in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This reflects an increase of about 40% over several years, with expanded enrollment and greater utilization driving growth during and after the pandemic era.

Recent federal budgets under the Trump administration have featured major plans to reduce federal Medicaid funding and modify the program structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is expected to cut more than $1 trillion in federal Medicaid funds over 10 years and set forth new policies such as work requirements and increased cost-sharing. These provisions could decrease coverage and funding for certain recipients, shifting more responsibility to states and limiting future federal growth, even as the program continues serving tens of millions in the U.S.

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.