At least $1,503 in Medicaid claims for COVID-19 care processed in Madelia for 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows that Medicaid payments for codes explicitly linked to COVID-19 services in Madelia reached a minimum of $1,503 for 2024.

Medicaid, one of the nation’s largest public health insurance programs, is funded through a partnership involving federal and state governments. The program primarily serves low-income adults and families, seniors, children and individuals with disabilities.

Taxpayer funding supports Medicaid, so fluctuation in local claim filings indicates how a community’s public health spending is distributed.

This report counted COVID-19 service payments using HCPCS codes identified or named in descriptions or data as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus”-related. Figures, therefore, represent just those claims clearly marked as related to COVID, and exclude care linked to the pandemic that might be registered using different or less-specific codes.

By comparison, Minneapolis had the highest total in Minnesota for 2024 Medicaid payments reflecting COVID-19 services, at $269,940 in claims.

Madelia Health was the sole provider submitting Medicaid claims for COVID-19-specific services in the city during 2024, according to the data.

Medicaid payments in all other claim groups grew by $39,184 from 2020 to 2024, reflecting a 7.3% rise in that period.

Average yearly Medicaid payments in Madelia in the two years before the pandemic were $464,566.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicaid’s combined federal and state spending totaled about $871.7 billion for fiscal 2023, about 18% of total U.S. health care spending, which is a substantial increase from around $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to COVID-19.

This roughly 40% growth is largely attributed to both higher enrollment and increased use during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget actions during the Trump presidency included major recommended cuts to federal Medicaid funding and new approaches for the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is estimated to trim over $1 trillion in federal Medicaid outlays over 10 years, adding policies such as work requirements and increased cost-sharing. These changes could reduce coverage for some recipients and heighten the state share of program funding as the program continues to provide health insurance for millions.

Note: Includes HCPCS codes explicitly labeled for COVID-19 services; totals do not represent all pandemic-related health care spending.

The information for this article is sourced from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Source data is available here.