Medway’s Medicaid COVID-19 billing reaches $26,002 in 2024, up more than 50% from prior year

In Medway, Medicaid paid a minimum of $26,002 for services billed with COVID-19–specific HCPCS codes in 2024, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows. This reflected an increase of 50.4% compared to 2023, during which providers submitted $17,285 of claims with those same codes.

Medicaid, a public health insurance program jointly operated by state and federal governments, covers low-income people and families, as well as seniors, children, and those with disabilities, positioning it as a major component of the U.S. health care system.

Because these payments use taxpayer dollars, shifts in Medicaid billing at the local level can reflect changes in public health care funding within a community.

This analysis includes services labeled with HCPCS codes as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus-” related in billing summaries or reference materials. These figures capture only services directly named as COVID-related by billing data and do not reflect broader pandemic-related care that could be billed differently.

For context, Boston saw the highest Medicaid payments tied to COVID-19 services in Massachusetts during 2024, with $691,711 in virus-specific claims.

Only Minuteclinic Diagnostic Of Massachusetts LLC submitted COVID-related Medicaid claims in Medway during 2024, per the data.

Amid pandemic years, Medicaid spending on COVID-19–labeled services contributed notably to overall payment growth in Medway.

Payments for all other Medicaid claims in Medway rose by $262,750 from 2020 to 2024, reflecting an increase of 24.8%.

On average, in the two years before the pandemic, Medway’s annual Medicaid payments were $1,315,637.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid spending totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023. This represented about 18% of all national health expenditures, up significantly from around $613.5 billion in 2019 prior to COVID-19.

This marks around 40% growth in only a few years, influenced largely by expanded eligibility and increased use of services during and following the pandemic.

Recent federal budgeting measures during the Trump administration have proposed large reductions to Medicaid funding and introduced changes to its structure. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,”, passed in 2025, is expected to cut more than $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending over 10 years. The law also implements work requirements and raises cost-sharing, likely reducing both coverage and funds available for some enrollees. These moves could put greater costs on states and restrict future federal funding growth, even as Medicaid remains a critical program for tens of millions nationwide.

Note: Includes only HCPCS codes clearly assigned to COVID-19 services; does not account for all spending connected to the pandemic response.

Information for this article comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The complete source data is available here.