Dental Services Medicaid reimbursements in Cerritos jump 32.6% in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Cerritos submitted $256,809 in claims for services under the Dental Services category, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The total represents a 32.6% rise from 2023, when claims for the same service category totaled $193,608.

Medicaid is supported by both federal and state governments and is operated by individual states as a public health insurance program. It serves low-income individuals and families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, establishing itself as a major component of the U.S. health care system. More details are available in the Commonwealth Fund Medicaid financing explainer.

Since Medicaid payments rely on public funds, fluctuations in local billing data illustrate how community health care dollars are distributed.

The “Dental Services” category includes groups of Medicaid-billed procedures, defined by the nature of care provided in various standardized HCPCS and CPT code groups. For this review, billing codes were systematically grouped within service categories based on consistent prefixes and number ranges, ensuring services were analyzed collectively without overlapping counts or inaccurate rankings over time.

While Cerritos experienced spending growth in several Medicaid service categories, Dental Services held the seventh spot by total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Throughout California, Dental Services ranked as the 11th highest category by total Medicaid payments in 2024.

Between 2019 and 2024, the dollar amount of Medicaid payments for Dental Services in Cerritos grew by $250,290, or 3839.4%. Some years, including 2022 and 2023, showed particularly robust year-over-year gains in spending.

Spending for Dental Services was evident throughout different areas of Cerritos, yet the largest share was rooted in just a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, the 90703 ZIP code alone accounted for $256,808, representing the full 100% of Medicaid payments for Dental Services in Cerritos for that year.

Medicaid reimbursement within the Dental Services category also remained concentrated within a select set of billing codes.

Looking at category trends, Medicaid payments for Dental Services in Cerritos rose 32.6% from 2023 to 2024, surpassing the 30.5% increase seen across all Medicaid categories in the city during the same timeframe.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports indicate combined federal and state Medicaid outlays reached about $871.7 billion in 2023, making up nearly 18% of all national health care spending, a substantial jump from $613.5 billion in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This change amounts to nearly 40% growth over just a few years, spurred primarily by greater enrollment and increased use of services during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget actions during the Trump administration included broad proposals to revise Medicaid’s federal funding. Notably, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which became law in 2025, anticipates over $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending cuts during the next decade and establishes measures such as work requirements and higher cost-sharing. These could reduce benefits for some enrollees and shift costs to states, restricting growth in federal Medicaid outlays while the program continues to serve tens of millions nationwide.

Note: HCPCS codes are provided for context within the category. Summaries and rankings use standardized service groupings instead of individual billing codes.

This article’s information comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Access the original data here.