Utah Medicaid spending for diagnostic radiology services climbs 37.1% in 2024 to nearly $60K

Utah Medicaid spending for diagnostic radiology services reached $59,977 in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This represented a 37.1% rise from 2023, when providers billed $43,746 for similar care.

Comparisons with earlier years are based on the closest prior year with complete data.

Medicaid, a government health insurance program managed by individual states and financed through a federal-state partnership, covers individuals and families with low incomes, as well as seniors, children and people with disabilities. It is a central element of the U.S. health care framework.

Since taxpayer funds support Medicaid, variations in local billing reflect how public health dollars are spent at the community level.

The Diagnostic Radiology Services category comprises Medicaid-billed services defined by the care type, with organization according to standardized HCPCS and CPT codes. For the analysis, each billing code was assigned to only one category using consistent prefixes and numeric groupings. This method allows grouping related services, avoids duplications, and maintains ranking accuracy over time.

Categories may sometimes include several types of associated services. In these cases, the label broadens to include related care types most frequently billed together in Medicaid, such as office consultations, diagnostic tests, and therapeutic procedures.

During the five years leading up to 2024, Medicaid payments for Diagnostic Radiology Services in Utah increased by $59,351, or 9,481%. Certain periods saw rapid growth, with substantial year-over-year increases in 2020 and 2021.

Although Medicaid outlays for Diagnostic Radiology Services spanned the state, the majority were concentrated in a small set of ZIP codes. In 2024, ZIP Code 84020 received $49,761 in Medicaid payments for these services (83% of total), while ZIP Code 84780 recorded $10,212 (17% of total).

Together, these two ZIP codes made up 100% of all Medicaid payments categorized under Diagnostic Radiology Services in Utah for the year.

By comparison, overall Medicaid payments statewide across all claims categories increased 1.4% between 2023 and 2024.

While spending rose in several service categories, diagnostic radiology ranked in the top 20 categories by total Medicaid payments in 2024 throughout the state.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data show federal and state Medicaid spending approached $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, accounting for about 18% of national health expenditure and rising sharply from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The increase reflects an approximate 40% jump in a few years, largely caused by greater enrollment and heightened usage during and following the pandemic.

Recent federal budget legislation under the Trump administration included major proposals to reduce the federal share of Medicaid spending and restructure program funding. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is projected to decrease federal Medicaid funding by more than $1 trillion over the next decade and adds policies like employment requirements and higher cost sharing that may limit coverage and funding for certain beneficiaries. These changes are expected to place more financial responsibility on the states and slow the growth of federal Medicaid funding, even as the program continues to serve tens of millions across the country.

Data for this article came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. See the full source here.