Medicaid spending for dental services in Marion jumps 388.9% in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Marion billed $4,395 for Dental Services, as reported in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This reflects a 388.9% jump from 2023, when claims for the same services totaled $899.

Medicaid is operated by states and financed through a partnership of federal and state governments. The program insures low-income families and individuals, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, making it a major component of the U.S. health care system.

Since Medicaid is funded by taxpayers, shifts in local billing levels offer insights into how community health care resources are distributed.

The “Dental Services” group aggregates Medicaid-billed care by category, determined using standardized HCPCS and CPT coding. For the purposes of this analysis, each code was categorized within a single group using set prefixes and ranges, which allows related care types to be tracked and accurately ranked without duplication across time.

Dental Services ranked fourth in total Medicaid payments among service categories in Marion for 2024, even as Medicaid spending climbed across other groups as well.

Statewide, Dental Services ranked 11th in Massachusetts by overall Medicaid payments for 2024.

During the five years up to 2024, Medicaid dollars spent on Dental Services in Marion rose by $4,395, or 0%. Certain periods saw faster growth, especially in 2023 and 2022, with notable year-over-year increases.

Dental Services payments in 2024 were spread across Marion but largely concentrated in specific ZIP codes. In particular, ZIP code 02738 accounted for $4,395 in payments, which composed 100% of Medicaid spending in this category for the city that year.

Most Medicaid payments within Dental Services were tied to a small set of individual billing codes.

Comparatively, the 388.9% Medicaid payment growth for Dental Services between 2024 and 2023 outpaced the 31.6% shift reported across all Medicaid claim categories in Marion during that time.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that federal and state Medicaid expenditures totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, making up roughly 18% of the country’s health spending—up from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This rise marks growth of about 40% in a few years, primarily attributed to higher enrollment and greater use of services during and after the pandemic.

Major federal budget legislation enacted under the Trump administration has included substantial proposals for reducing federal Medicaid funds and changing the program’s structure. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is expected to trim over $1 trillion from federal Medicaid outlays over the coming decade. It introduces policies such as work requirements and increased cost sharing, which may reduce funding or coverage for some recipients. These measures are anticipated to shift more financial responsibility to the states and slow the growth of federal Medicaid backing, while the program continues to serve tens of millions nationwide.

Note: HCPCS codes are displayed for context within the category. All totals and rankings here are based on standardized groups of services, not individual billing codes.

Details in this article are drawn from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The raw data source is accessible here.