At least $6,736 in Medicaid spending linked to COVID-19 services in Madison for 2024

In 2024, Medicaid payments in Madison reached a minimum of $6,736 for services invoiced with HCPCS codes designated for COVID-19, according to information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid is a government health insurance initiative that is operated by states and supported through joint federal and state funding. The program offers coverage for low-income adults and families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, and constitutes a major component of the U.S. health care landscape.

Because taxpayer money finances Medicaid, shifts in local billing figures reflect how community public health funding is distributed.

This analysis defines COVID-19–specific services as those cited with HCPCS codes identifying “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in billing details or reference sources. Thus, reported totals reflect only service lines directly classified as COVID-related and exclude other health care linked to the pandemic that may use broader billing designations.

As a point of comparison, 2024 Medicaid payments for COVID-19 services in Minneapolis were highest in Minnesota, tallying $269,940 in relevant claims.

The data indicates that Madison Healthcare Services was the sole entity submitting Medicaid claims tied to COVID-19–coded services in Madison for 2024.

COVID-19–coded services drove significant growth in Medicaid spending for Madison during the pandemic years.

Other claim categories’ aggregate Medicaid payments in Madison saw an increase of $55,760 from 2020 to 2024, which marked a 16.4% rise.

For the two years before the pandemic began, average yearly Medicaid payouts in Madison were $303,987.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data shows that combined federal and state Medicaid spending reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, or around 18% of all national health funding—up significantly from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 crisis.

This change equals approximately 40% growth in just a few years, propelled mostly by increased enrollment and usage throughout and following the pandemic era.

The Trump administration advanced federal budget legislation containing substantial proposals to decrease Medicaid funding and overhaul the program. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid expenditures by more than $1 trillion throughout the coming decade and introduces measures like work requirements and higher cost-sharing, which could cut funding and eligibility for certain recipients. These modifications are foreseen to raise state-level spending obligations and slow federal Medicaid expansion, even as millions of Americans remain recipients.

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

This article draws upon the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Find the source data here.