Mobile Medicaid COVID-19 service payments top $774,000 in 2024

Medicaid payments totaled at least $774,189 in Mobile for 2024, covering services billed with HCPCS codes specifically linked to COVID-19, based on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database figures.

Medicaid is a state-administered public health insurance program funded jointly by federal and state governments. It provides coverage for low-income individuals and families, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, and stands as one of the pillars of the U.S. health care landscape.

Since Medicaid payments are sourced from taxpayer funds, changes in local billing amounts offer insight into public health care spending within communities.

The analysis identified COVID-19–related services using HCPCS codes labeled or classified as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” within billing descriptions or related data. As such, these figures only represent services explicitly coded as COVID-19–related and do not reflect other pandemic care billed under broader codes.

Birmingham, for comparison, reported the state’s highest total for Medicaid payments associated with COVID-19 services in 2024, recording $1,029,178 in virus-linked claims.

Within Mobile, 22 providers submitted claims for COVID-19–related Medicaid services in 2024, with the COVID Specific code accounting for $696,232 of the total billed.

The average payment per Mobile provider for these COVID-19–related services reached $35,190, surpassing Alabama’s statewide average of $35,056.

During the primary pandemic years, services tied to COVID-19 made up a substantial portion of the increase in Medicaid expenditures in Mobile.

Total Medicaid payments across other claim types rose by $293,280 from 2020 to 2024, representing a growth of 0.6%.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid expenditures reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023—roughly 18% of overall U.S. health spending—an increase from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the pandemic.

This represents about 40% growth within several years, attributed largely to expanded enrollment and greater usage during and after the pandemic’s peak.

More recent federal budget bills under the Trump administration have aimed to reduce Medicaid funding and change its structure. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is expected to trim over $1 trillion from federal Medicaid spending over the next 10 years, introducing policies such as work requirements and higher cost-sharing for some beneficiaries. These reforms are likely to raise state responsibilities and slow the expansion of federal Medicaid support, even as the program continues to insure millions nationwide.

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

Information for this article is sourced from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Access the data here.