Kinston Medicaid providers submitted $968,748 in claims for radiology procedures in 2024, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This was a 42.7% increase compared with 2023, when providers billed $678,960 for the same services.
Medicaid is a state-run public health insurance program with funding shared by federal and state governments. Serving low-income individuals and families, seniors, children and people with disabilities, Medicaid is a major component of the U.S. health care system.
As Medicaid spending is funded by taxpayers, shifts in local Medicaid billing help illustrate allocations of public health funds within each community.
The Radiology Procedures category represents a set of Medicaid-billed services as defined by types of care using standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. This analysis assigned billing codes to service categories using unified code ranges and prefixes, enabling analysis of similar services, ensuring accuracy in rankings and avoiding double counting over time.
Radiology Procedures was the sixth largest Medicaid payment category in Kinston in 2024, although Medicaid spending increased across various types of care.
Statewide, Radiology Procedures ranked 11th for Medicaid payments in North Carolina in 2024.
From 2019 through 2024, Kinston’s Medicaid payments connected to Radiology Procedures grew by $758,169, or 360%. The city saw notable growth during certain years, with sharp year-over-year increases in both 2022 and 2023.
Payments for radiology procedures were distributed citywide but concentrated within a small number of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 28503 saw $967,236 in payments and 28501 saw $1,511; together, these accounted for 100% of Medicaid spending for radiology procedures in Kinston for the year.
Within this service category, a small number of specific billing codes received the majority of Medicaid payments.
By comparison, while Medicaid payments for radiology procedures in Kinston rose 42.7% from 2023 to 2024, all Medicaid claim categories citywide increased by just 3.9% over the same time.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, federal and state Medicaid spending together totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, accounting for roughly 18% of total health spending nationwide and up from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The increase is around 40% over a short period, primarily due to higher enrollment and greater use of services during and after the pandemic.
Recent federal budget legislation passed during the Trump administration proposed major changes to federal Medicaid funding and the program’s structure. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, calls for more than $1 trillion in federal Medicaid funding cuts over the next 10 years and includes work requirements and increased cost-sharing, potentially reducing benefits and coverage for certain enrollees. These measures are expected to place more financial responsibility on states and limit the growth of federal support, though Medicaid will still insure tens of millions of Americans.
| Year | Total Medicaid Payments | % Change From Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $210,579 | -32.3% |
| 2021 | $214,730 | 2% |
| 2022 | $516,206 | 140.4% |
| 2023 | $678,960 | 31.5% |
| 2024 | $968,748 | 42.7% |
| Rank | Category | Medicaid Payments | Share of City Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medicine Services and Procedures | $9,582,941 | 21.5% |
| 2 | National Codes Established for State Medicaid Agencies | $9,315,657 | 20.9% |
| 3 | Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment | $8,760,850 | 19.7% |
| 4 | Evaluation and Management | $7,968,316 | 17.9% |
| 5 | Temporary National Codes (Non-Medicare) | $5,253,508 | 11.8% |
| 6 | Radiology Procedures | $968,748 | 2.2% |
| 7 | Ambulance and Other Transport Services and Supplies | $882,298 | 2% |
| 8 | Pathology and Laboratory Procedures | $747,447 | 1.7% |
| 9 | Medical And Surgical Supplies | $277,944 | 0.6% |
| 10 | Durable Medical Equipment | $158,496 | 0.4% |
| 11 | Orthotic Procedures and services | $151,806 | 0.3% |
| 12 | Drugs Administered Other than Oral Method | $111,926 | 0.3% |
| 13 | Enteral and Parenteral Therapy | $92,054 | 0.2% |
| 14 | Surgery | $87,880 | 0.2% |
| 15 | Procedures / Professional Services | $86,874 | 0.2% |
| 16 | Dental Services | $45,463 | 0.1% |
| 17 | Durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) | $23,515 | 0.1% |
| 18 | Temporary Codes | $11,603 | <0.1% |
| 19 | Coronavirus Diagnostic Panel | $2,203 | <0.1% |
| 20 | Administrative, Miscellaneous and Investigational | $5 | <0.1% |
| HCPCS Code | Description | Medicaid Payments | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| 74177 | Ct abd & pelvis w/contrast | $391,457 | 20 |
| 70450 | Ct head/brain w/o dye | $291,912 | 39 |
| 74022 | Radex compl aqt abd series | $77,399 | 34 |
| 71046 | X-ray exam chest 2 views | $75,280 | 37 |
| 71045 | X-ray exam chest 1 view | $65,690 | 57 |
| 74176 | Ct abd & pelvis w/o contrast | $22,389 | 2 |
| 71275 | Ct angiography chest | $15,405 | 2 |
| 72125 | Ct neck spine w/o dye | $9,362 | 2 |
| 73030 | X-ray exam of shoulder | $3,585 | 2 |
| 77336 | Radiation physics consult | $3,519 | 2 |
| 76856 | Us exam pelvic complete | $3,397 | 1 |
| 73610 | X-ray exam of ankle | $3,357 | 2 |
| 73562 | X-ray exam of knee 3 | $2,774 | 2 |
| 73130 | X-ray exam of hand | $1,703 | 1 |
| 76805 | Ob us >/= 14 wks sngl fetus | $880 | 1 |
| 76816 | Ob us follow-up per fetus | $631 | 2 |
Note: HCPCS codes are displayed here for context. Category totals and rankings provided in this story are based on standardized groupings of service types rather than individual billing codes.
Data used in this article was obtained from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The source data can be found here.
