Damascus Medicaid payments for radiology procedures increase 0.5% in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Damascus billed $112,993 for Radiology Procedures, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This figure is a 0.5% increase compared to 2023, when claims for these services amounted to $112,450.

Medicaid is a public health insurance initiative operated by states and funded together by federal and state governments. Serving low-income people, families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, it remains one of the largest components of the U.S. health care system.

Taxpayer funds support Medicaid payments, making shifts in local billing an indicator of how municipal health care spending is distributed.

The “Radiology Procedures” designation covers an array of Medicaid-billed services grouped by type, using standardized HCPCS and CPT code systems. This report assigned each billing code exclusively to a single service category by matching code prefixes and numeric ranges to prevent duplicate counts and maintain accurate historical rankings.

Radiology Procedures had the second-highest Medicaid payment total of all service categories in Damascus for 2024, with more than one category experiencing increases.

Statewide in Maryland, Radiology Procedures ranked 10th in total Medicaid payments during 2024.

Over the five years up to 2024, Medicaid payments connected with Radiology Procedures in Damascus climbed by $28,282, or 33.4%. There were notable surges in spending growth during specific intervals, particularly in 2021 and 2023.

While payments for Radiology Procedures extended throughout the city, they were mainly focused within a few ZIP codes. In 2024, the ZIP code with the largest Medicaid payments for Radiology Procedures was 20872, which received $112,992. The top ZIP code represented 100% of Damascus Medicaid payments in this category for the year.

Medicaid payments in the Radiology Procedures category were also concentrated among a small set of individual billing codes.

For context, Radiology Procedures in Damascus saw a 0.5% payment increase between 2024 and 2023, while Medicaid payments in all claim categories citywide changed by 7% for the same period.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services report that combined federal and state Medicaid disbursements totaled about $871.7 billion during fiscal 2023. This made up nearly 18% of total national health expenses, rising significantly from $613.5 billion in 2019, ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This 40% growth over just a few years was driven in large part by increased enrollment and use of services through and following the pandemic.

Major federal budget legislation signed during the Trump presidency contains significant initiatives to decrease federal Medicaid expenditures and adjust program structure. For instance, projections for the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, show more than $1 trillion in federal Medicaid cutbacks over 10 years, alongside requirements such as work rules and greater cost-sharing. These policies could reduce some beneficiaries’ coverage and funding, shifting further financial responsibility onto states as federal support growth slows, even as the program remains essential for tens of millions.

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 comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The source data is accessible here.