Medicaid spending for radiology procedures in Taos up 3.3% in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid providers in Taos submitted $1,128,462 in claims for Radiology Procedures, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database reported. This represents a 3.3% rise compared with 2023, when claims for these services reached $1,092,721.

Medicaid is a public health insurance initiative operated by states with funding shared between federal and state governments. It serves low-income individuals and families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, representing one of the largest segments of the U.S. health care system.

Since Medicaid payments are taxpayer-funded, shifts in local billing highlight how public health care resources are allocated within the community.

The “Radiology Procedures” category includes a range of services billed to Medicaid, defined by care type using standardized HCPCS and CPT code groupings. For this evaluation, each billing code was placed into a single service category based on consistent code prefixes and number ranges, ensuring services are grouped accurately and rankings aren’t duplicated.

Radiology Procedures saw increased Medicaid spending among several categories, ranking as the fifth-highest by total Medicaid payments in Taos for 2024.

Across New Mexico, Radiology Procedures was ranked seventh among Medicaid payment categories in 2024.

Between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid payments for Radiology Procedures in Taos grew by $726,911, or 181%. Some years experienced especially strong growth, with significant increases recorded in both 2023 and 2021.

Spending in this category occurred citywide, but was mostly concentrated in a small set of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP code 87571 saw the highest Medicaid spending for Radiology Procedures, with $1,128,462, making up 100% of the category’s Medicaid payments in Taos for the year.

Medicaid payments in the Radiology Procedures category were also focused among a relatively small number of individual billing codes.

Compared with the broader Medicaid claims across all categories in Taos, which grew by 0.2% from 2023 to 2024, payments for Radiology Procedures saw a 3.3% increase in the same period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid expenditures reached roughly $871.7 billion for fiscal year 2023, accounting for about 18% of all U.S. health spending, a sharp increase from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This represents growth of about 40% in only a few years, mainly attributed to higher enrollment and increased service use during and following the pandemic period.

Recent budget measures under the Trump administration have included major proposals to cut federal Medicaid funding and alter the structure of the program. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is anticipated to reduce federal Medicaid funding by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years and brings in new requirements, such as work mandates and higher cost-sharing—potentially restricting coverage and funding for some enrollees. These revisions are expected to transfer more financial responsibility to states and curb the growth of federal Medicaid contributions, while the program continues to cover tens of millions of people nationwide.

Note: HCPCS codes are shown for context within the category. Category totals and rankings in this article are based on standardized service groupings rather than individual billing codes.

Information 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.