Paulding Medicaid spending shows $326 linked to COVID-19 care in 2024

In Paulding, Medicaid expenditures reached at least $326 in 2024 for services billed under HCPCS codes specifically identified with COVID-19, based on information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid, a state-operated public health insurance initiative funded through a federal-state partnership, provides coverage for low-income people, families, seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities, making it a major pillar of the nation’s health care system.

Because Medicaid draws on taxpayer resources, shifts in local billing reflect how a community’s public health expenditure is prioritized.

This analysis identifies services related to COVID-19 by selecting HCPCS codes explicitly marked as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” within billing descriptions or related data. The financial totals account only for services directly identified as COVID-related, and do not include broader care that may have been classified differently in billing.

To compare, Marion had the state’s highest Medicaid total for COVID-19 services in 2024, with $10,818,404 in related claims.

The data notes that Paulding County Hospital was the sole provider filing Medicaid COVID-related claims during 2024 within the city.

COVID-19–specific medical services made up a significant segment of Medicaid payment growth in Paulding during the years of the pandemic.

Between 2020 and 2024, Medicaid disbursements across all other categories climbed by $607,484, an increase of 156.9%.

In the two years leading up to the pandemic, average annual Medicaid expenditures in Paulding were $335,525.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined Medicaid outlays by federal and state sources amounted to about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, around 18% of total U.S. health care spending, rising from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019, ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This nearly 40% escalation over several years was fueled primarily by increased enrollment and service usage during and after the pandemic.

Federal budget measures during the Trump presidency included major proposed reductions to the Medicaid program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is expected to decrease federal Medicaid funding by more than $1 trillion over the next decade, introducing work mandates and higher cost-sharing that may restrict coverage and resources for certain participants. As these policies take effect, more financial responsibility is anticipated to be transferred to states, slowing the pace of federal Medicaid funding growth even as the program continues to serve millions nationwide.

Note: Totals cover only HCPCS codes specifically labeled as COVID-19 services and do not represent all health spending linked to the pandemic.

Information for this report was sourced from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The original data source is available here.