Union’s Medicaid COVID-19 service claims surpassed $288,800 in 2024

Providers in Union submitted at least $288,823 in Medicaid claims for services linked to COVID-19 in 2024, as shown by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid, a public health insurance initiative jointly funded by both federal and state governments, offers health care coverage to low-income individuals and families, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, making it one of the largest sections of the U.S. health care sector. Additional information is found at this resource.

Since Medicaid funding is sourced from taxpayers, variations in the amount billed locally provide insight into how a community allocates its public health care resources.

For this study, HCPCS codes classified or described as specifically associated with “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” were used to identify relevant billing. This method means only claims labeled as COVID-related in the billing data were counted, which excludes other pandemic-related care filed under more general service codes.

By way of comparison, Clifton had the highest Medicaid billing for COVID-19 services in New Jersey in 2024, totaling $1,725,516 in claims for virus-related care.

In Union, two health care providers were responsible for Medicaid billings under COVID-19–related services in 2024. The code labeled COVID Specific was among the most utilized, representing $280,841 out of the total.

The per-provider average for Medicaid claims related to COVID-19 in Union was $144,411, which exceeds the state average per provider of $33,367.

COVID-19–designated services accounted for a significant portion of increased Medicaid spending in Union during the years of the pandemic.

Across all other claims, total Medicaid payments in Union grew by $19,720,576 from 2020 through 2024, marking a 124% jump.

In the two calendar years immediately prior to the pandemic, Medicaid payments in Union averaged $15,172,897 annually.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services report that combined federal and state Medicaid costs reached around $871.7 billion for fiscal 2023, about 18% of total national health spending, a substantial rise from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019, before COVID-19 appeared.

The rise in spending, about 40% over several years, was mostly due to increased program enrollment and broader use of covered services during the pandemic and after its peak.

Recent federal budget frameworks under the Trump administration contained major plans for reducing Medicaid funding at the federal level and changing the program’s structure. For example, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” approved in 2025, is expected to cut over $1 trillion from federal Medicaid expenses over the next 10 years and implement work requirements and higher cost-sharing, potentially affecting coverage and financial support for various beneficiaries. This move is set to increase the fiscal responsibilities of states and may limit future federal Medicaid growth even as the program serves millions nationwide.

Note: This tally includes only those HCPCS codes specifically marked for COVID-19 services and does not encompass all health care provided due to the pandemic.

The information for this article came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database, available here.