Leominster Medicaid distributed at least $204,987 for COVID-19 services in 2024

At least $204,987 in Medicaid payments in Leominster for 2024 covered services billed with HCPCS codes directly linked to COVID-19, according to information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid is administered by the states with state and federal funding support jointly from both levels of government. Serving low-income families and individuals, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, Medicaid makes up a major segment of the nation’s health care system.

Since Medicaid relies on taxpayer funds, local shifts in Medicaid billing demonstrate how public health resources are deployed in a specific community.

For the analysis, researchers included only services with HCPCS codes described or classified as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus”-related in billing records. These numbers therefore reflect only claims explicitly tagged for COVID-19 and do not include relevant care billed under different or more generic medical codes.

Boston saw the highest Medicaid payment amount associated with COVID-19 services across Massachusetts in 2024, reporting $691,711 in related claims.

In 2024, Leominster had 3 providers filing Medicaid claims for COVID-19–specific services. The top billed code, COVID Specific, was responsible for $195,400.

On average, Medicaid payments for COVID-19–related services in Leominster came to $68,329 per provider, surpassing the Massachusetts statewide average of $28,676.

During the pandemic years, claims uniquely tied to COVID-19 contributed significantly to Medicaid spending growth in Leominster.

Between 2020 and 2024, all other Medicaid payment categories in Leominster increased by $5,992,983—a growth of 20.2%.

Data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show that federal and state Medicaid spending totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023—approximately 18% of all national health expenditures—which marked a steep rise from $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 emergency.

This jump signifies about 40% growth in a few years, largely attributed to greater enrollment and increased service utilization during and subsequent to the pandemic years.

Recent federal budget acts under the Trump administration have introduced extensive plans to pull back federal Medicaid funding and adjust the program’s design. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is expected to lower federal Medicaid expenditures by more than $1 trillion over a decade and implement measures like work requirements and higher cost-sharing, cutting coverage for certain enrollees while shifting a greater financial burden to states, even as Medicaid continues serving tens of millions of Americans.

Note: Totals include only HCPCS codes that are specifically labeled for COVID-19 services and do not reflect all health care spending connected to the pandemic.

Facts included in this article are drawn from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The data source may be accessed here.