Clarendon sees $2,400 in Medicaid dental service payments in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Clarendon billed a total of $2,400 under the Dental Services category, as reported in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This amount reflected a 64.4% rise from 2023, when providers billed $1,460 for the same services.

Medicaid, a public health insurance initiative funded jointly by state and federal governments, insures low-income families, children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. The program is one of the major components of the U.S. health care system.

Since Medicaid funding is generated by taxpayers, fluctuations in local billing illuminate how public health care dollars are spent within a community.

The Dental Services category represents a specific segment of Medicaid-billed care classified by the kind of dental treatment provided, utilizing standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. Each code used in this review was assigned to a unique service group relying on standard prefixes and number ranges, enabling analysis of similar services while eliminating double counting and preserving ranking accuracy throughout the timeframe.

Dentistry was the fourth highest Medicaid spending category in Clarendon during 2024, among multiple sectors showing increased Medicaid disbursements.

Statewide in Arkansas, Dental Services placed ninth among the categories by overall Medicaid payments in 2024.

From 2019 through 2024, Medicaid payments for dental services in Clarendon increased by $2,400, representing no net change (0%). Periods of significant spending growth took place in years like 2023 and 2022, marked by notable annual percentage increases.

Within the city, while spending on dental services occurred throughout Clarendon, payments were especially concentrated in certain ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 72029 made up $2,399, accounting for 100% of Clarendon’s Medicaid dental service payments for the year.

The Dental Services group saw the majority of Medicaid payments attributed to only a select few billing codes during the reporting period.

In comparison, Medicaid payments for Dental Services in Clarendon grew 64.4% between 2024 and 2023, whereas total citywide Medicaid payments across all claim categories rose by 39.5% over the same period.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported that combined federal and state expenditures for Medicaid hit approximately $871.7 billion in the 2023 fiscal year. This figure represents about 18% of all national health spending, up markedly from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The growth of nearly 40% in federal and state Medicaid spending over several years largely followed increased enrollment and greater use of care during and after the pandemic.

Recent actions in federal budget policy under the Trump administration have included major proposals to scale back federal Medicaid outlays and alter the program’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, aims to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years, instituting provisions like work requirements and higher cost-sharing that could limit access and funding for some recipients. These shifts may place greater funding demands on states and cap federal contributions even as Medicaid remains a significant support for millions of Americans.

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.

This article’s information was sourced from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Original data is available here.