Medicaid COVID-19 billing reaches $4,649 in Kingston for 2024

At least $4,649 in Medicaid payments in Kingston was billed in 2024 under HCPCS codes specifically related to COVID-19, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid, a public health insurance program overseen by states and financed through collaboration between federal and state governments, serves low-income groups, seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities, making it a key part of the U.S. health care system.

Because funding for Medicaid is derived from taxpayers, shifts in local billing levels give insight into how community health care funds are spent.

This review identified COVID-19–related services using HCPCS codes described or categorized as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in billing descriptions or reference materials. Therefore, the totals account only for services labeled expressly as COVID-related, excluding care that may have been billed under broader or alternative codes during the pandemic.

For context, Pittsburgh saw the highest Medicaid COVID-19 service payments in Pennsylvania for 2024, amounting to $266,441 in claims linked to the virus.

In Kingston, two providers submitted Medicaid claims for COVID-19–related services during 2024, with the Immunoassay code ranking as the most utilized, contributing $2,534.

Kingston’s average Medicaid payment per provider for COVID-19–related services was $2,324, which is below the state average of $6,645.

During the peak years of the pandemic, specific COVID-19 services substantially contributed to Medicaid spending growth in Kingston.

Other Medicaid claim categories saw an increase in total payments of $4,962,703 between 2021 and 2024, marking an increase of 174.9%.

For the two years immediately before the pandemic, average annual Medicaid payments in Kingston were $92,647.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that joint federal and state Medicaid expenditures approached $871.7 billion for fiscal year 2023, representing roughly 18% of the total national health spending—an increase from about $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the onset of COVID-19.

This rise translates to approximately 40% growth over several years, primarily attributed to expanded enrollment and greater service use during and after the pandemic period.

Under recent federal budget legislation from the Trump administration, several proposals have aimed to significantly decrease federal Medicaid funding and change the structure of the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is estimated to cut more than $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending over the next 10 years and introduces new measures such as work requirements and higher cost-sharing that could decrease both coverage and funding for certain beneficiaries. These steps are expected to push more financial responsibility to states and restrict federal Medicaid funding growth, although the program continues to provide for tens of millions across the U.S.

Note: Totals include HCPCS codes classified for COVID-19 services only and do not reflect the sum of all pandemic-related health care spending.

This article uses information drawn from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database, accessible here.