Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows Medicaid providers in Hockessin billed $82,153 for services within the Dental Services category in 2024. This represented a 2.9% increase over 2023, when providers claimed $79,837 for the same service group.
Medicaid is a state-administered health insurance program funded jointly by state and federal governments. It serves low-income people, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, making it a key component of the U.S. health care system.
Since Medicaid payments are taxpayer-funded, shifts in local billing levels reflect changes in how public health care dollars are distributed in the community.
The Dental Services category includes Medicaid-billed services grouped according to type of care provided, following standardized HCPCS and CPT code ranges. For this analysis, each code is assigned to one service grouping based on code prefixes and numeric ranges, enabling comparisons and maintaining accuracy in service rankings from year to year.
While Medicaid expenditures grew across several service types, Dental Services held the third-highest ranking by Medicaid payments in Hockessin for 2024.
Statewide in Delaware, Dental Services was seventh by total Medicaid payment volume in 2024.
Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid spending in Hockessin’s Dental Services category increased by $31,989, or 63.8%. The largest annual jumps occurred in 2021 and 2022.
Dental Services projections show that payments were distributed throughout the city but concentrated in a single ZIP code. In 2024, ZIP code 19707 made up $82,152 in Dental Services payments, accounting for 100% of claims in Hockessin for the year.
Payments within Dental Services saw concentrations in relatively few billing code types as well.
For context, while Hockessin saw a 2.9% rise in Dental Services payments from 2023 to 2024, payments across all Medicaid service categories in the city increased by 72% in that interval.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total state and federal Medicaid spending amounted to about $871.7 billion for fiscal year 2023. This represented about 18% of national health outlays and grew sharply from about $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This expansion amounts to a roughly 40% increase in just several years, driven primarily by rising enrollment and greater use following the pandemic.
Recent federal budget legislation implemented during the Trump administration has proposed substantial decreases in federal Medicaid assistance and changes to the program’s structure. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is on track to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion in the next decade. The legislation also introduces elements such as work requirements and additional cost-sharing that could lead to reduced coverage and finances for some recipients. As a result, more financial responsibility is expected to shift to states, capping federal Medicaid support while the program still covers tens of millions across the country.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $50,164 | -28% |
| 2021 | $73,257 | 46% |
| 2022 | $90,408 | 23.4% |
| 2023 | $79,837 | -11.7% |
| 2024 | $82,152 | 2.9% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $212,728 | 48.6% |
| 2 | Evaluation and Management | $139,577 | 31.9% |
| 3 | Dental Services | $82,152 | 18.8% |
| 4 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $2,673 | 0.6% |
| 5 | Procedures / Professional Services | $385 | 0.1% |
| 6 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $297 | 0.1% |
| 7 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $98 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| D0120 | Periodic oral evaluation | $44,608 | 12 |
| D0274 | Bitewings four images | $14,537 | 11 |
| D0272 | Dental bitewings two images | $9,956 | 12 |
| D0220 | Intraoral periapical first | $7,626 | 11 |
| D0330 | Panoramic image | $2,570 | 2 |
| D0230 | Intraoral periapical ea add | $2,066 | 4 |
| D0150 | Comprehensve oral evaluation | $786 | 1 |
| D0601 | Caries risk assess low risk | $0 | 12 |
| D0602 | Caries risk assess mod risk | $0 | 10 |
| D0603 | Caries risk assess high risk | $0 | 12 |
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.
