Elmwood Park Medicaid claims for COVID-19 reached $908,932 in 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows that a minimum of $908,932 in Medicaid payments was reported in Elmwood Park in 2024 for services billed using HCPCS codes specifically tied to COVID-19.

Medicaid is a public health insurance program overseen by individual states and financed collectively by federal and state governments. The program provides coverage for low-income families and individuals, children, seniors, and people with disabilities, making it a leading segment of the U.S. health ecosystem.

As Medicaid funding comes directly from taxpayers, changes in claims reflect how public health dollars are utilized within each community.

For this assessment, COVID-19–related services were pinpointed using HCPCS codes within billing details described or categorized as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus”-related. Therefore, these totals represent services specifically labeled as COVID-related, excluding care that may have been billed under broader medical categorizations.

For context, Clifton recorded the state’s highest amount of Medicaid claims for COVID-19 services in 2024, with $1,725,516 associated with virus-code claims.

Data shows Bioreference Health, LLC was the only provider that submitted Medicaid claims under COVID-19 codes within Elmwood Park in 2024.

During the period of the pandemic, expenditures for COVID-19–specific services made up a significant portion of Medicaid spending increases in Elmwood Park.

Average annual Medicaid payments in Elmwood Park for the two years prior to the pandemic were $86,243,363.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total state and federal Medicaid spending climbed to about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, representing roughly 18% of the nation’s health care expenditures—a notable jump from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This surge translates to nearly 40% growth in a short span, attributed mostly to heightened enrollment and usage during and following the pandemic era.

Federal budget laws signed during the Trump administration have included major efforts to reduce federal Medicaid contributions and reorganize the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is slated to cut federal Medicaid funding by more than $1 trillion over 10 years, adding provisions such as work requirements and higher cost-sharing, which could reduce both coverage and resources for certain participants. These adjustments are anticipated to transfer costs to state governments and curb federal Medicaid expansion, while the program continues to support tens of millions across the country.

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

Information in this article was sourced from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database, available here.