In 2024, Medicaid providers in Kernersville billed $91,733 for services categorized under Dental Services, based on information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This amount was 66.8% higher than in 2023, when claims for these services totaled $55,011.
Medicaid is a publicly funded health insurance program overseen by individual states and financed through joint state and federal contributions. It serves low-income people, older adults, children, and individuals with disabilities, ranking among the key elements of the U.S. health system.
Since Medicaid is funded by taxpayers, fluctuations in local billing provide insight into how public health resources are allocated in communities.
The “Dental Services” category includes a range of Medicaid-covered services grouped according to care type and uses standardized HCPCS and CPT coding. This analysis assigned each code to a single service group using consistent code and number ranges, allowing related services to be viewed together while preventing double counting and maintaining reliable rankings over time.
Even though Medicaid spending grew in several service categories, Dental Services were the sixth-largest in Kernersville for Medicaid payments in 2024.
Dental Services ranked as the ninth category in total Medicaid payments statewide in North Carolina in 2024.
Looking at the five years preceding 2024, Kernersville’s Medicaid payments in the Dental Services category rose by $62,517, or 214%. Periods of steeper growth occurred, with significant increases from year to year noted in 2022 and 2020.
Although these services were provided across Kernersville, a small number of ZIP codes received most of the payments. ZIP code 27284 saw the highest Medicaid Dental Services payments in 2024, amounting to $91,732, which made up 100% of citywide payments for this category that year.
Within the Dental Services segment, most Medicaid payments were linked to a limited group of billing codes.
For reference, Medicaid Dental Services payments in Kernersville grew 66.8% from 2023 to 2024, while all Medicaid claim categories in the city experienced an 18% change during that time frame.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid spending reached around $871.7 billion in the 2023 fiscal year. This represented about 18% of all national health costs, rising sharply from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019—prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The increase marks about 40% growth within a few years, mostly due to expanded enrollment and greater utilization during and after the pandemic.
Recent federal budget measures under the Trump administration have included major proposals to cut federal Medicaid funding and change the program’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is set to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade and introduces policies like work requirements and higher cost-sharing, potentially decreasing coverage and funding for beneficiaries. These changes are expected to shift greater costs to state governments and could limit federal Medicaid growth, although the program continues to serve tens of millions nationwide.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $29,216 | 41.2% |
| 2021 | $35,623 | 21.9% |
| 2022 | $63,476 | 78.2% |
| 2023 | $55,011 | -13.3% |
| 2024 | $91,732 | 66.8% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $3,952,408 | 57.3% |
| 2 | Evaluation and Management | $1,985,502 | 28.8% |
| 3 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $587,679 | 8.5% |
| 4 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $105,524 | 1.5% |
| 5 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $96,590 | 1.4% |
| 6 | Dental Services | $91,732 | 1.3% |
| 7 | Procedures / Professional Services | $48,327 | 0.7% |
| 8 | Surgery | $24,598 | 0.4% |
| 9 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $4,072 | 0.1% |
| 10 | Radiology Procedures | $2,295 | <0.1% |
| 11 | Temporary Codes | $237 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| D0140 | Limit oral eval problm focus | $27,705 | 24 |
| D0330 | Panoramic image | $19,020 | 12 |
| D0210 | Intraor comprehensive series | $17,470 | 12 |
| D0150 | Comprehensve oral evaluation | $11,269 | 12 |
| D0220 | Intraoral periapical first | $6,605 | 15 |
| D0120 | Periodic oral evaluation | $5,320 | 10 |
| D0274 | Bitewings four images | $1,842 | 5 |
| D0230 | Intraoral periapical ea add | $1,586 | 8 |
| D0145 | Oral evaluation, pt < 3yrs | $912 | 2 |
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.
