Wilson Medicaid providers billed $1,471,556 for Dental Services in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This total reflects a 9.4% jump compared to 2023, when $1,345,012 was billed for the same services.
Medicaid is a government health insurance program managed by states and funded by federal and state governments together. It covers low-income individuals and families, seniors, children and people with disabilities, making it a major part of the U.S. health care system.
Because Medicaid relies on taxpayer funding, shifts in local billing show how public health care resources are distributed within a community.
The “Dental Services” category represents Medicaid-billed services grouped by the type of dental care provided, using standardized HCPCS and CPT code ranges. For this analysis, each code was placed in only one category, ensuring related services could be grouped without double counting and allowing consistent rankings over time.
Dental Services ranked seventh among Medicaid payment categories in Wilson in 2024, although several other service areas also saw Medicaid spending increases.
At the state level in North Carolina, Dental Services ranked ninth statewide for total Medicaid payments in 2024.
Over the five years through 2024, Medicaid payments in Wilson linked to Dental Services rose by $376,252, or 34.4%. Larger year-over-year increases occurred in 2023 and 2021, highlighting periods of accelerated spending growth.
While Dental Services Medicaid spending was spread across the city, most payments were concentrated within a few ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 27893 saw $845,593 and ZIP code 27896 had $625,962 in Dental Services Medicaid payments. These two ZIP codes together made up 100% of the Dental Services Medicaid payments in Wilson that year.
Within the Dental Services category, payments were also concentrated in just a handful of billing codes.
For context, Medicaid Dental Services payments in Wilson increased by 9.4% between 2024 and 2023, while overall Medicaid claims in the city rose by 3% during the same time period.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid spending came to about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023—roughly 18% of all national health expenditures. This is a sharp rise from the $613.5 billion spent in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The change amounts to nearly 40% growth over several years, largely due to higher enrollment and increased service use during and after the pandemic period.
Federal budget legislation enacted during the Trump administration has included major proposals for reducing federal Medicaid funding and restructuring the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed in 2025, is expected to cut over $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending over the next decade. It brings in new policies, such as work requirements and higher cost-sharing, that could reduce coverage and funding for some enrollees. With these changes, more costs may shift to states and the growth of federal Medicaid aid could be limited, even as the program continues to serve millions of Americans.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $1,095,303 | -7.9% |
| 2021 | $1,218,336 | 11.2% |
| 2022 | $1,163,308 | -4.5% |
| 2023 | $1,345,011 | 15.6% |
| 2024 | $1,471,555 | 9.4% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $28,617,048 | 38.2% |
| 2 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $15,398,290 | 20.5% |
| 3 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $9,746,489 | 13% |
| 4 | Evaluation and Management | $9,502,307 | 12.7% |
| 5 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $6,646,171 | 8.9% |
| 6 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $1,707,920 | 2.3% |
| 7 | Dental Services | $1,471,555 | 2% |
| 8 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $794,766 | 1.1% |
| 9 | Surgery | $372,730 | 0.5% |
| 10 | Radiology Procedures | $234,740 | 0.3% |
| 11 | Durable Medical Equipment | $192,452 | 0.3% |
| 12 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $157,682 | 0.2% |
| 13 | Enteral and Parenteral Therapy | $76,711 | 0.1% |
| 14 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $47,490 | 0.1% |
| 15 | Procedures / Professional Services | $24,241 | <0.1% |
| 16 | Durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) | $11,765 | <0.1% |
| 17 | Anesthesia | $764 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| D0120 | Periodic oral evaluation | $289,429 | 117 |
| D0150 | Comprehensve oral evaluation | $234,809 | 150 |
| D0330 | Panoramic image | $224,457 | 143 |
| D0220 | Intraoral periapical first | $147,641 | 121 |
| D0274 | Bitewings four images | $143,925 | 102 |
| D0230 | Intraoral periapical ea add | $141,672 | 120 |
| D0140 | Limit oral eval problm focus | $75,819 | 93 |
| D0145 | Oral evaluation, pt < 3yrs | $73,362 | 75 |
| D0272 | Dental bitewings two images | $54,612 | 76 |
| D0240 | Intraoral occlusal film | $28,741 | 12 |
| D0340 | 2d cephalometric image | $26,767 | 19 |
| D0470 | Diagnostic casts | $22,490 | 20 |
| D0160 | Extensv oral eval prob focus | $7,138 | 6 |
| D0270 | Dental bitewing single image | $688 | 6 |
| D0350 | Oral/facial photo images | $0 | 12 |
| D0431 | Diag tst detect mucos abnorm | $0 | 5 |
| D0801 | 3d intraoral scan direct | $0 | 12 |
Note: HCPCS codes are presented for context within the category. Totals and rankings are based on grouped services, not individual billing codes.
This article’s source is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Access the source data here.
