Cleveland Medicaid entries for COVID-19 services total $442,855 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid payments in Cleveland amounted to a minimum of $442,855 for services claimed under HCPCS codes specifically linked to COVID-19, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid is a government-managed health insurance initiative operated by the states and funded by a mix of state and federal monies. The program covers people with low incomes, as well as seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities, forming a significant component of the U.S. health system.

Because taxpayer funding supports Medicaid payments, shifts in local billing trends illustrate how health dollars are distributed within communities.

This review identified COVID-19–related services by filtering for HCPCS codes noted as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in either code descriptions or supplementary reference sources. These totals only reflect services explicitly marked as COVID-related in billing data, omitting any care billed through more general or differently cataloged medical codes.

To compare, Spring Hill led Tennessee Medicaid payments tied to COVID-19 services in 2024, with virus-related claims totaling $4,274,403.

Seven providers in Cleveland submitted claims for COVID-19–related services through Medicaid in 2024. The most frequently used code was COVID Specific, accounting for $284,915.

The average Medicaid payment per Cleveland provider for COVID-19–related care was $63,265, which is above the Tennessee state average of $43,799.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, services tied to the virus accounted for a significant increase in Cleveland’s Medicaid spending.

Medicaid claims in all other categories grew by $7,076,394 from 2020 to 2024, a 50.6% rise.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services report that combined federal and state Medicaid spending in the U.S. was about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, amounting to approximately 18% of the nation’s total health outlays. This rose sharply from about $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to COVID-19.

This growth, over 40% in a short period, is largely attributed to broader enrollment and increased usage during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal fiscal policy during the Trump administration has included substantial plans to decrease federal Medicaid outlays and reconfigure the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is slated to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion in the next decade and introduces requirements and higher out-of-pocket costs that could affect coverage and funding for select recipients. These adjustments are expected to result in states absorbing additional costs and limiting the expansion of federal Medicaid participation, while the program continues to serve millions nationwide.

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

The data in this report is sourced from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Access the original dataset here.