Lenoir Medicaid paid $410,556 for COVID-19-specific services in 2024

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database, at least $410,556 in Medicaid payments in Lenoir during 2024 was connected to services billed with HCPCS codes specifically tied to COVID-19.

Medicaid operates as a public health coverage program, administered by states and co-financed by federal and state governments. It provides medical insurance for low-income individuals, families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities. This coverage makes Medicaid a primary component of the U.S. health care system.

Because taxpayer funds support Medicaid, shifts in local billing reveal how a community’s public healthcare resources are used.

For this report, HCPCS codes classified as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in billing and reference databases were used to identify related Medicaid services. Therefore, totals shown include only those directly labeled as COVID-related services and exclude any pandemic-associated care that might be coded differently.

As a comparison, Charlotte saw the largest total for COVID-19-related Medicaid payments statewide in North Carolina in 2024, with $2,373,883 in such claims.

Six providers in Lenoir billed Medicaid for COVID-19-related services over the year. Of those claims, the COVID Specific code led with $410,273 billed.

The average Medicaid payment per provider for COVID-19 services in Lenoir was $68,426—substantially higher than North Carolina’s average of $37,126 per provider.

COVID-19 service claims contributed heavily to Medicaid spending increases in Lenoir during the pandemic years.

All other Medicaid payment categories experienced a combined increase of $27,959,232 between 2020 and 2024—a gain of 90.5%.

Annual average Medicaid payments in Lenoir for the two years before the pandemic period were $32,501,029.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total federal and state Medicaid spending reached approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, accounting for nearly 18% of all national health spending. This total marks a significant increase from around $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This surge reflects approximately 40% growth in just a few years, much of it propelled by higher enrollment numbers and greater demand for services connected to the pandemic period and afterward.

Recent federal budget laws enacted during the Trump administration included substantial reductions and changes to Medicaid at the federal level. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” established in 2025, is projected to decrease federal Medicaid funding by over $1 trillion in the next 10 years, with new requirements such as work provisions and increased beneficiary cost-sharing. These policies are likely to shift more financial responsibility to states and restrict the expansion of federal support, although Medicaid will remain a key source of coverage for millions of Americans.

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

This analysis uses data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Access the original source data here.