Palm Desert Medicaid billing for radiology procedures climbed 5.4% in 2024

Palm Desert Medicaid providers submitted $3,899,364 in claims for Radiology Procedures services in 2024, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The total rose 5.4% compared with 2023, when $3,698,976 in claims were filed for this type of service.

Medicaid is a public health insurance program administered by states and funded jointly by federal and state governments. It provides coverage for low-income people and families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, making it one of the largest health care programs in the U.S.

Spending shifts in Medicaid billing at the local level show how taxpayer funds are distributed within the community for health care.

The “Radiology Procedures” category includes a collection of Medicaid-billed services grouped by type, using standardized HCPCS and CPT billing code prefixes and ranges. In this analysis, each billing code was assigned to one service category to group related services, prevent overlaps, and maintain accurate rankings over time.

Medicaid payments for Radiology Procedures placed third in total category spending in Palm Desert for 2024, following increases across several service areas.

Statewide, Radiology Procedures were ranked 10th by Medicaid payment total in California in 2024.

Across the five years ending in 2024, Palm Desert’s Medicaid spending for Radiology Procedures rose by $661,679, or 20.4%. Notable annual increases occurred in 2023 and 2022 as growth accelerated during those periods.

While payments for Radiology Procedures were dispersed citywide, most of the Medicaid payments were reported from a small group of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 92260 accounted for $3,839,165 and 92211 accounted for $60,198. Combined, these two areas made up all Medicaid payments in Palm Desert for Radiology Procedures in the year.

A limited selection of billing codes accounted for the majority of Medicaid payments within the Radiology Procedures category.

For context, Palm Desert’s Medicaid payments for Radiology Procedures increased by 5.4% between 2024 and 2023, compared with a rise of 6.4% for overall Medicaid claims in the city during that timeframe.

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

The total represents an approximate 40% rise over several years, primarily resulting from greater enrollment and higher service use during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget measures signed into law during the Trump administration have put forward major changes to federal Medicaid financing and the program’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion in the next decade and introduces requirements such as work rules and greater cost-sharing, which could lower funding and coverage for some groups. These adjustments may result in more costs being placed on states and limit federal Medicaid expansion, despite ongoing demand for the program nationwide.

Note: HCPCS codes are provided to illustrate procedures within the category. Rankings and totals are based on standardized service groups.

Source information is drawn from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Access the original dataset here.