Durham Medicaid payments for diagnostic radiology services climb to $8,367 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Durham billed $8,367 for Diagnostic Radiology Services, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represents an increase of 1502.9% from 2023, when $522 in claims were submitted for these services.

Medicaid, a public health insurance program run by states and jointly funded by federal and state governments, covers low-income people and families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities. This makes Medicaid one of the largest parts of the U.S. health care system, as detailed by the Commonwealth Fund.

Since Medicaid payments are publicly funded, shifts in billing levels provide visibility into how health care dollars are allocated at the community level.

The “Diagnostic Radiology Services” grouping contains Medicaid-billed services defined by the specific type of care, relying on standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. Each billing code in this analysis was assigned to a single service group using consistent code prefixes and numeric ranges, so comparable services could be tracked together without double counting or misranking across years.

Diagnostic Radiology Services saw the largest Medicaid payment total among all categories in Durham for 2024, despite broader increases across service groups.

Across California, Diagnostic Radiology Services was the 25th largest category by Medicaid payment totals in 2024.

During the five years before 2024, Medicaid payments connected to Diagnostic Radiology Services in Durham increased by $8,367, or 0%. Payment growth outpaced earlier periods, with significant annual gains marked in 2023 and 2022.

Spending for Diagnostic Radiology Services was spread around the city but was mainly concentrated in a small set of ZIP codes. In 2024, the highest Medicaid payment total for Diagnostic Radiology Services was in ZIP code 95938, accounting for $8,366. Overall, the top ZIP code represented 100% of Durham’s Medicaid payments tied to this category that year.

Within the Diagnostic Radiology Services grouping, Medicaid funds were focused on only a few individual billing codes.

Compared with 2023, Medicaid payments tied to Diagnostic Radiology Services in Durham rose 1502.9% between 2024 and 2023, while all Medicaid claim categories in the city saw a 1316.6% increase for the period.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that combined federal and state Medicaid spending reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, which made up roughly 18% of all U.S. health expenditures—a significant jump from $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This amounts to an increase of about 40% in a few years, largely due to expanded enrollment and higher service use during and after the COVID-19 period.

Legislation during the Trump administration has included major proposals to reduce federal Medicaid spending and change the program’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion over the next decade. Policy changes such as new work requirements and higher cost-sharing could cut coverage and funding for certain beneficiaries. These updates may shift more Medicaid costs to states and limit the rate of federal Medicaid expansion, while the program continues covering tens of millions of people nationwide.

Note: HCPCS codes are displayed to show context within the category. Category totals and rankings in this report are determined by standardized service groupings, not by single billing codes.

Details for this article come from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. See the source data here.