In Lakewood, Medicaid providers billed $1,044,832 for Dental Services in 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows. This reflected a 6.9% rise compared to 2023, when $977,461 was billed for the same services.
Medicaid, a public insurance initiative run by the states and financed in partnership by state and federal governments, covers people and families with low incomes, seniors, children, and those living with disabilities. It remains among the largest components of the U.S. health care system.
Because taxpayer dollars fund Medicaid, local billing changes indicate how public health care resources are distributed within the community.
The “Dental Services” grouping includes a range of Medicaid services identified by care type, using standardized HCPCS and CPT billing codes. In this review, codes were consistently sorted into specific categories according to prefix and number series, facilitating accurate analysis by service while preventing double counting and maintaining year-to-year ranking accuracy.
Although increases spanned numerous service types, Dental Services were the fourth-largest Medicaid payment category in Lakewood for 2024.
Across California, Dental Services ranked 11th for total Medicaid payments in 2024.
Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid payments for Dental Services in Lakewood rose by $620,183, or 146%. Certain periods experienced especially rapid growth, notably in 2021 and 2022.
Spending in the Dental Services category occurred citywide, but funds were primarily concentrated in a few ZIP codes. In 2024, the highest Medicaid payments for Dental Services were recorded in ZIP code 90713, with $760,815; 90712, with $228,870; and 90715, representing $55,145. Combined, these 3 ZIP codes comprised 100% of Dental Services Medicaid payments for the city in that year.
Within Dental Services, Medicaid expenditures were further focused among a small set of billing codes.
By comparison, the 6.9% increase in Dental Services Medicaid payments in Lakewood from 2023 to 2024 was lower than the 29.7% change seen across all Medicaid claim categories locally over the same timeframe.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that federal and state Medicaid spending reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up nearly 18% of the nation’s health expenditures. This was a notable jump from $613.5 billion in 2019, ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This change equates to nearly 40% growth within several years, largely attributed to higher enrollment and increased service use during and after the pandemic.
Federal budgeting initiatives enacted by the Trump administration recently included substantial proposals to reduce federal Medicaid funding and reshape the program. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which became law in 2025, is anticipated to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion in the next decade. It introduces work requirements and greater cost-sharing, measures that could lessen both coverage and funding for certain recipients. These policy shifts are projected to transfer more Medicaid financing responsibility to states and slow federal spending growth, even as the program continues to serve tens of millions of Americans.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $424,648 | 18.4% |
| 2021 | $627,304 | 47.7% |
| 2022 | $896,739 | 43% |
| 2023 | $977,461 | 9% |
| 2024 | $1,044,831 | 6.9% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evaluation and Management | $2,690,918 | 31.7% |
| 2 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $1,188,281 | 14% |
| 3 | Anesthesia | $1,076,581 | 12.7% |
| 4 | Dental Services | $1,044,831 | 12.3% |
| 5 | Radiology Procedures | $761,468 | 9% |
| 6 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $597,506 | 7% |
| 7 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $254,181 | 3% |
| 8 | Surgery | $207,416 | 2.4% |
| 9 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $170,958 | 2% |
| 10 | Hearing Services | $131,824 | 1.6% |
| 11 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $110,791 | 1.3% |
| 12 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $87,029 | 1% |
| 13 | Temporary Codes | $65,041 | 0.8% |
| 14 | Coronavirus Diagnostic Panel | $46,087 | 0.5% |
| 15 | Procedures / Professional Services | $38,279 | 0.5% |
| 16 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $11,482 | 0.1% |
| 17 | Vision Services | $7,058 | 0.1% |
| 18 | Chemotherapy Drugs | $2,839 | <0.1% |
| 19 | Orthotic Procedures and services | $2,511 | <0.1% |
| 20 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $217 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| D0120 | Periodic oral evaluation | $464,273 | 88 |
| D0150 | Comprehensve oral evaluation | $169,692 | 82 |
| D0230 | Intraoral periapical ea add | $101,041 | 104 |
| D0272 | Dental bitewings two images | $46,699 | 25 |
| D0145 | Oral evaluation, pt < 3yrs | $46,585 | 14 |
| D0274 | Bitewings four images | $45,717 | 83 |
| D0603 | Caries risk assess high risk | $44,306 | 15 |
| D0210 | Intraor comprehensive series | $39,423 | 44 |
| D0350 | Oral/facial photo images | $38,814 | 45 |
| D0220 | Intraoral periapical first | $18,906 | 49 |
| D0330 | Panoramic image | $13,064 | 17 |
| D0140 | Limit oral eval problm focus | $12,460 | 11 |
| D0602 | Caries risk assess mod risk | $1,845 | 4 |
| D0270 | Dental bitewing single image | $1,433 | 9 |
| D0601 | Caries risk assess low risk | $570 | 3 |
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.
