Medicaid providers in Rockford claimed $1,296,211 for services under the Dental Services category in 2024, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. That amount was up 51.7% compared with 2023, when the total for similar claims stood at $854,519.
Medicaid is a state-administered public health insurance program funded jointly by federal and state governments. The program covers low-income households, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, making it a cornerstone of the U.S. health care system.
Since Medicaid payments are financed by taxpayers, shifts in local billing patterns reveal how public health care resources are used within a community.
The “Dental Services” category includes a set of Medicaid-billed procedures grouped by care type, according to standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. For this review, each billing code was assigned to one category based on code prefixes and numbers, enabling services to be studied collectively without duplicate counting and ensuring consistent rankings through time.
Dentistry placed fifth among the categories ranked by Medicaid payments in Rockford for 2024, though spending increased for multiple services overall.
Across Illinois, Dental Services was the 11th largest Medicaid payment category by total dollars in 2024.
Medicaid payments tied to Dental Services in Rockford grew by $851,169—an increase of 191.3%—over the five years prior to 2024. At different points, spending climbed more rapidly, with significant year-over-year growth seen in 2021 and again in 2023.
Although payments for Dental Services were distributed across Rockford, most came from a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, the majority was in ZIP code 61102, which saw $1,146,629 in payments, and another $149,582 in 61104. These two ZIP codes together contributed 100% of the city’s Medicaid dental service payments that year.
Within Dental Services, a small selection of procedure codes accounted for the largest share of total Medicaid payments.
Medicaid payments for dental care in Rockford jumped by 51.7% between 2024 and 2023, compared to a 1.4% increase among all Medicaid claim categories in the city over the same timeframe.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, state and federal Medicaid expenditures reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up about 18% of all national health spending. That figure was up significantly from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019 before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This represents nearly 40% growth within a few years, primarily due to expanded enrollment and increased care utilization during and after the pandemic phase.
Recent budget laws enacted during the Trump administration feature major proposals to decrease federal Medicaid support and restructure the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is estimated to cut federal Medicaid expenditures by over $1 trillion over 10 years while introducing policies including work requirements and higher cost-sharing. These measures may reduce coverage and federal support for some recipients, shifting more fiscal responsibility to states even as Medicaid continues to serve tens of millions of Americans.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $445,041 | -25.8% |
| 2021 | $801,147 | 80% |
| 2022 | $609,846 | -23.9% |
| 2023 | $854,518 | 40.1% |
| 2024 | $1,296,211 | 51.7% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $22,270,272 | 39.3% |
| 2 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $16,017,877 | 28.3% |
| 3 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $12,425,103 | 21.9% |
| 4 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $1,425,150 | 2.5% |
| 5 | Dental Services | $1,296,211 | 2.3% |
| 6 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $1,021,152 | 1.8% |
| 7 | Durable Medical Equipment | $811,909 | 1.4% |
| 8 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $582,918 | 1% |
| 9 | Orthotic Procedures and services | $312,735 | 0.6% |
| 10 | Procedures / Professional Services | $157,477 | 0.3% |
| 11 | Enteral and Parenteral Therapy | $87,828 | 0.2% |
| 12 | Evaluation and Management | $70,615 | 0.1% |
| 13 | Durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) | $41,685 | 0.1% |
| 14 | Vision Services | $29,035 | 0.1% |
| 15 | Temporary Codes | $28,910 | 0.1% |
| 16 | Surgery | $16,201 | <0.1% |
| 17 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $15,908 | <0.1% |
| 18 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $9,087 | <0.1% |
| 19 | Radiology Procedures | $3,117 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| D0999 | Unspecified diagnostic proce | $1,296,211 | 24 |
| D0120 | Periodic oral evaluation | $0 | 23 |
| D0140 | Limit oral eval problm focus | $0 | 12 |
| D0150 | Comprehensve oral evaluation | $0 | 19 |
| D0210 | Intraor comprehensive series | $0 | 4 |
| D0220 | Intraoral periapical first | $0 | 23 |
| D0230 | Intraoral periapical ea add | $0 | 23 |
| D0270 | Dental bitewing single image | $0 | 12 |
| D0272 | Dental bitewings two images | $0 | 18 |
| D0274 | Bitewings four images | $0 | 21 |
| D0601 | Caries risk assess low risk | $0 | 2 |
| D0603 | Caries risk assess high risk | $0 | 24 |
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.
