COVID-19 Medicaid claims in South Yarmouth top $7,800 for 2024

At least $7,836 in Medicaid payments were claimed in South Yarmouth in 2024 for services billed under Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes directly associated with COVID-19 data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows.

Medicaid, a government-run health insurance program administered by the states and jointly funded by federal and state sources, provides coverage for low-income people, older adults, children, and those with disabilities. It remains a major element of the American health care landscape, covering tens of millions of individuals and families.

Because Medicaid is funded through public taxation, shifts in local billing patterns reveal how taxpayer money is disbursed in a particular community for health care.

For the analysis, only services marked as COVID-19 or coronavirus-related by HCPCS code or coding description and reference datasets were included. These data only show claims explicitly tagged as COVID-19 in billing, so pandemic care billed under more general or unrelated codes may not be reflected in the totals.

In comparison, Boston experienced the highest volume of Medicaid payments linked to COVID-19 services in Massachusetts during 2024, with $691,711 in claims meeting those criteria.

Data indicate that Bass River Pediatric Associates was South Yarmouth’s sole submitter of Medicaid claims coded as COVID-19–related for the year.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported total state and federal Medicaid expenditures of approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, accounting for about 18% of overall national health outlays. That’s up from $613.5 billion in 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The increase marks a roughly 40% rise in a span of a few years, attributed in large part to expanded program enrollments and greater use following pandemic disruptions.

Recent federal budget bills passed under the Trump administration deployed a variety of substantial reductions for federal Medicaid contributions and initiated reforms. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is set to decrease federal Medicaid funding by more than $1 trillion over 10 years, including provisions for mandatory work and more cost-sharing, which could roll back or limit benefits for portions of the eligible population. These provisions are likely to reduce the rate of federal funding growth, shift additional costs to states and could represent significant changes for millions relying on Medicaid nationwide.

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

This article draws its information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Find the original dataset here.