In 2024, Maine Medicaid payments for dental services reached $5,642,144, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This total reflected a 10.9% rise over 2023, when claims in this category amounted to $5,085,818.
Medicaid, a state-administered program jointly funded by federal and state governments, offers public health insurance to low-income individuals and families, older adults, children, and residents with disabilities, making it a major segment of the U.S. health care system.
Since Medicaid operates with taxpayer funding, shifts in billing patterns locally track how public health care funds are utilized in each community.
The “Dental Services” grouping includes a range of Medicaid-billed treatments defined by types of care, using standardized HCPCS and CPT code collections. In this review, each billing code was categorized under a single service type through consistent code ranges, ensuring related procedures are analyzed together, preventing duplication, and enabling accurate year-to-year comparison.
Where relevant, such categories span several underlying treatments, with the groupings covering related care often billed together in Medicaid, such as those including office visits, diagnostic assessments, and therapeutic services.
Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid payments for dental services in Maine climbed by $3,479,545, representing 160.9% growth. Certain timeframes showed accelerated increases, with especially notable gains in 2022 and 2023.
Although these dental services payments were distributed across the state, a relatively small number of ZIP codes saw the largest shares. In 2024, leading ZIP codes for Medicaid dental services included 04105 with $861,675 (15.3% of the total), 04330 with $718,393 (12.7%), and 04401 with $390,434 (6.9%).
The top three ZIP codes collectively made up 34.9% of total Medicaid dental payments statewide during the year.
For context, Medicaid payments for all types of claims statewide grew by 1.3% between 2023 and 2024.
Though spending rose across multiple service types, dental services were among the top 13 categories by total Medicaid payments in Maine in 2024.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid expenditures reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, making up approximately 18% of nationwide health spending—an increase from about $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 crisis.
This surge represents a roughly 40% increase over a few years, mainly due to higher enrollment and increased utilization throughout and following the pandemic period.
Recent federal budget measures under the Trump administration have included significant plans to cut federal Medicaid funding and revise the program. For example, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid outlays by more than $1 trillion over 10 years, introducing work requirements and increased cost-sharing, which may impact coverage and funds available for some recipients. These policies aim to shift more expenses to states and slow the growth of federal Medicaid contributions, even as tens of millions remain covered by the program.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $5,642,144 | 10.9% |
| 2023 | $5,085,818 | 40.5% |
| 2022 | $3,620,782 | 38% |
| 2021 | $2,624,568 | 21.4% |
| 2020 | $2,162,599 | -9.4% |
| 2019 | $2,387,847 | 4.8% |
| 2018 | $2,278,142 | N/A |
| ZIP Code | Medicaid Payments | % of State Total |
|---|---|---|
| 04105 | $861,675 | 15.3% |
| 04330 | $718,393 | 12.7% |
| 04401 | $390,434 | 6.9% |
| 04101 | $356,797 | 6.3% |
| 04103 | $348,997 | 6.2% |
| 04769 | $256,085 | 4.5% |
| 04096 | $251,207 | 4.5% |
| 04210 | $207,478 | 3.7% |
| 04963 | $202,329 | 3.6% |
| 04605 | $188,390 | 3.3% |
| 04901 | $160,945 | 2.9% |
| 04412 | $157,432 | 2.8% |
| 04090 | $135,831 | 2.4% |
| 04073 | $134,860 | 2.4% |
| 04240 | $115,641 | 2% |
| 04930 | $95,855 | 1.7% |
| 04074 | $90,391 | 1.6% |
| 04072 | $78,706 | 1.4% |
| 04005 | $76,694 | 1.4% |
| 04444 | $71,069 | 1.3% |
| 04743 | $64,463 | 1.1% |
| 04915 | $55,142 | 1% |
| 04416 | $46,028 | 0.8% |
| 04106 | $45,404 | 0.8% |
| 04011 | $44,120 | 0.8% |
| 04543 | $41,899 | 0.7% |
| 04046 | $40,610 | 0.7% |
| 04435 | $34,414 | 0.6% |
| 04426 | $33,950 | 0.6% |
| 04048 | $32,893 | 0.6% |
| 04464 | $32,010 | 0.6% |
| 04658 | $28,796 | 0.5% |
| 04955 | $28,707 | 0.5% |
| 04953 | $28,363 | 0.5% |
| 04856 | $26,305 | 0.5% |
| 04429 | $23,494 | 0.4% |
| 04270 | $21,476 | 0.4% |
| 04037 | $19,505 | 0.3% |
| 03908 | $11,110 | 0.2% |
| 04973 | $10,150 | 0.2% |
| 04083 | $7,535 | 0.1% |
| 04259 | $6,905 | 0.1% |
| 04654 | $6,893 | 0.1% |
| 04843 | $5,961 | 0.1% |
| 04463 | $4,396 | 0.1% |
| 04276 | $4,245 | 0.1% |
| 04102 | $4,194 | 0.1% |
| 04679 | $3,942 | 0.1% |
| 04364 | $3,790 | 0.1% |
| 04068 | $3,416 | 0.1% |
| 04020 | $3,072 | 0.1% |
| 04333 | $3,023 | 0.1% |
| 04357 | $2,947 | 0.1% |
| 04252 | $2,082 | <0.1% |
| 04981 | $1,661 | <0.1% |
| 04643 | $1,394 | <0.1% |
| 04652 | $1,379 | <0.1% |
| 04736 | $1,180 | <0.1% |
| 04538 | $1,110 | <0.1% |
| 04363 | $1,055 | <0.1% |
| 04457 | $957 | <0.1% |
| 04756 | $754 | <0.1% |
| 04730 | $600 | <0.1% |
| 04668 | $550 | <0.1% |
| 04344 | $384 | <0.1% |
| 04631 | $296 | <0.1% |
| 04092 | $255 | <0.1% |
| 04920 | $89 | <0.1% |
| 04468 | $20 | <0.1% |
| 04667 | $13 | <0.1% |
Information in this article was drawn from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. You can access the source data here.