Red Lodge Medicaid COVID-19 claims for 2024 exceed $500

In 2024, Medicaid claims in Red Lodge reached at least $538 for services billed under HCPCS codes linked to COVID-19, based on records from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid is a state-run public health insurance initiative jointly funded by the federal and state governments. Covering low-income residents, families, children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities, the program plays a central role in the U.S. health care system. For more information on its funding, see here.

With Medicaid dollars coming from taxpayers, shifts in local billing help illustrate how public health funding is distributed within communities.

To conduct this analysis, COVID-19-related care was tracked using HCPCS codes defined as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus”-related in their billing details or reference data. These amounts cover only claims directly identified as COVID-19–related, not all care connected to the pandemic that may have been billed in other categories.

By comparison, Great Falls had the largest total for Medicaid payments on COVID-19-related services in Montana for 2024, with $26,944 in relevant claims.

The data indicates that Memorial Hospital Association was the sole provider submitting COVID-19–related Medicaid claims in Red Lodge during 2024.

Total Medicaid claims for all other categories in Red Lodge rose by $24,434 between 2020 and 2024, marking a 141.4% increase.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data shows combined federal and state spending on Medicaid hit approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, making up around 18% of all U.S. health expenditures—up from about $613.5 billion in 2019, before COVID-19.

This increase of roughly 40% over a few years was fueled by expanded enrollment and greater health care utilization during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget measures enacted during the Trump administration have proposed significant reductions in federal Medicaid funding and changes to the program’s structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed in 2025, is expected to cut more than $1 trillion from federal Medicaid spending over the next decade and implement new requirements like work mandates and higher cost-sharing for some enrollees. These adjustments are anticipated to shift a greater share of costs to states and moderate federal Medicaid growth even as millions continue to rely on the program.

Note: Totals reflect only services billed under HCPCS codes officially labeled for COVID-19. Other pandemic-related expenses are not included.

The information in this article comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Access the original data here.