Medicaid dental service payments in Brewster reach $1.6 million in 2024, up 6.9%

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Brewster received $1,628,169 for services categorized under Dental Services, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This total reflects a 6.9% rise from 2023, when claims for these services reached $1,523,626.

Medicaid is a public insurance program managed by states and funded jointly by both federal and state governments. It serves low-income populations including individuals, families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities and is one of the largest national health care programs.

Because Medicaid is funded through taxpayer dollars, shifts in local billing highlight how public health care resources are distributed at the community level.

The “Dental Services” category encompasses Medicaid-billed services that are grouped by the provided type of care, consistent with standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. This analysis assigns each billing code to only one service category using defined prefixes and number ranges, assisting comparisons and accurate annual rankings by preventing overlap.

Dentistry services topped all other medical categories for total Medicaid payments in Brewster in 2024, though Medicaid spending increased across several other service categories as well.

Statewide in New York during 2024, Dental Services ranked 11th among categories for total Medicaid payments.

Across the five years before 2024, Brewster’s Medicaid Dental Services payments rose by $618,948, a 61.3% increase. Growth in this category surged during particular years, especially in 2021 and 2020.

Although Medicaid claims for Dental Services were spread throughout Brewster, payment totals were concentrated within certain ZIP codes. The ZIP code 10509 accounted for the bulk of these payments in 2024, totaling $1,628,168. This area alone represented 100% of the city’s Medicaid Dental Services category payments for the year.

Within the Dental Services category, a small set of billing codes accounted for most Medicaid funding.

For comparison, the 6.9% rise in Brewster’s Medicaid Dental Services payments between 2024 and 2023 is set against a 30.5% increase observed across all Medicaid claim categories for the city during that period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined state and federal Medicaid expenditures reached roughly $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up about 18% of national health expenditures. This was a significant increase from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This jump marks approximately 40% growth in just a few years, mainly caused by increased enrollment and usage throughout and following the pandemic.

Recent federal budget acts during the Trump administration have introduced major proposals to reduce federal funding and change Medicaid’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to cut federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years and adds new work requirements and higher cost-sharing, potentially reducing coverage or support for some recipients. These adjustments are expected to shift more costs onto states while placing limits on future federal backing, though the program still covers tens of millions nationwide.

Note: HCPCS codes appear solely for context. All category figures and rankings in this article reflect standardized service groupings, not individual billing codes.

Source data for this article originate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Find the data here.