California Medicaid radiology procedure payments hit $667 million in 2024

California’s Medicaid payments for services in the Radiology Procedures category reached $667,252,446 in 2024, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database show. This total was 1.4% above the 2023 figure of $657,797,576 in claims.

Medicaid operates as a state-run public health insurance program, jointly funded by federal and state governments, serving low-income families and individuals, the elderly, children and people with disabilities. It remains a major segment of the U.S. health care system.

Shifts in Medicaid billing paint a picture of how taxpayer-funded health care dollars are being distributed in each community.

The “Radiology Procedures” category comprises Medicaid-billed services grouped by the care provided, based on standard HCPCS and CPT codes. For this analysis, individual billing codes were assigned to a single service category following established prefixes and number ranges, so related services could be assessed collectively with consistent rankings year over year and without double counting.

Some groups, where relevant, combine multiple forms of care frequently billed under Medicaid, such as diagnostic tests, therapeutic procedures and office visits within the broader category.

From 2019 to 2024, Medicaid payments corresponding to the Radiology Procedures category in California increased by $267,231,359, a rise of 66.8%. Accelerated growth occurred during certain years, notably in 2021 and 2023.

Though payments for Radiology Procedures originated from across California, a few ZIP codes accounted for a significant share. In 2024, ZIP Code 90025 registered $37,281,988 (5.6% of total), ZIP Code 92103 had $27,701,990 (4.2%), and ZIP Code 94305 recorded $18,879,941 (2.8%).

Overall, the top 3 ZIP codes were responsible for 12.6% of Medicaid spending in the state for the Radiology Procedures category in 2024.

By comparison, overall Medicaid payments in California for all claim categories rose 4.3% from 2023 to 2024.

Across multiple service areas, Medicaid spending grew, with the Radiology Procedures category standing among the 10 highest by total statewide payments in 2024.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined state and federal Medicaid outlays reached roughly $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023—about 18% of all national health expenditures and sharply higher than the pre-pandemic level of $613.5 billion in 2019.

This increase marks approximately 40% growth in just several years, fueled in large part by enrollment expansions and rising service use during and after the pandemic.

Recent budgets during the Trump presidency have brought major proposals to reduce federal Medicaid spending and reshape the program. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed in 2025, is set to reduce federal Medicaid support by over $1 trillion through the next decade and introduces measures like work requirements and greater cost-sharing for recipients. These policy shifts could transfer some expenses to states and rein in federal funding increases, while the Medicaid program continues to assist tens of millions of Americans.

The information in this article was sourced from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Find the original data set here.