Dandridge Medicaid claims for dental services reached $449,987 in 2024, up 45.3%

Dandridge Medicaid providers collected $449,987 in claims for dental services during 2024, based on figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represents a 45.3% rise from 2023, when providers billed $309,740 for the same category of care.

Medicaid serves as a public health insurance program operated separately by the states and funded in partnership by federal and state governments. The program supports low-income individuals and families, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, making it a significant component of the U.S. health care system.

Since Medicaid payment funding is sourced from taxpayers, fluctuations in local provider billings illustrate how public health care resources are distributed within a specific community.

The “Dental Services” category is defined by groupings of Medicaid-billed care associated with specific treatment types, using standardized HCPCS and CPT code segments. In this review, each billing code was mapped to a single service group by referencing code prefixes and numerical ranges, supporting longitudinal analysis without overlapping services and preserving ranking integrity.

Though Medicaid expenditures rose in several service areas, the Dental Services classification led all categories in Dandridge by total Medicaid-funded payments during 2024.

Across Tennessee, Dental Services ranked as the 12th largest service category by payment volume for Medicaid in 2024.

For the five-year span ending in 2024, local Medicaid payment totals for Dental Services in Dandridge increased by $326,246, or 263.7%. The pace of spending growth rose during particular years, with notable one-year gains in both 2020 and 2021.

Dental Services spending within Dandridge was distributed across the municipality, but billing was notably concentrated within few ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 37725 accounted for $449,987, and the city’s top ZIP code comprised 100% of all Medicaid outlays tied to Dental Services throughout the year.

Within the Dental Services group, a small set of billing codes accounted for most Medicaid payments.

Looking at local comparisons, dental service-related Medicaid payments in Dandridge jumped by 45.3% from 2023 to 2024. By contrast, overall Medicaid claims across all service categories in the city grew by 16.7% during the same interval.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid expenditures were approximately $871.7 billion in the fiscal year 2023—making up around 18% of all U.S. health care spending. This reflects a marked increase since 2019 before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when spending was $613.5 billion.

The shift represents growth of about 40% in just a few years, mainly because of higher enrollment and use of services during and after the pandemic period.

Recent federal budget packages enacted under the Trump administration have featured prominent measures aimed at trimming Medicaid funding and revamping the program structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,”, signed in 2025, is forecast to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years, adding policies like work requirements and greater cost-sharing. These may reduce both coverage and funding for some enrollees, moving more financial responsibility to states and likely moderating future federal Medicaid growth, though the program remains vital to millions nationwide.

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.