Danville Medicaid spent $5,763 on COVID-19 care in 2024, with majority of costs during pandemic peak

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows that Medicaid payments in Danville in 2024 totaled at least $5,763 for services billed under HCPCS codes specifically linked to COVID-19.

Medicaid, one of the country’s largest health insurance programs, is managed by states and funded by both federal and state governments. It provides coverage to low-income groups, families, seniors, children and people with disabilities, making it a key part of the national health system.

Because Medicaid is funded by taxpayers, fluctuations in local billing demonstrate distribution of public health care spending in the community.

For this data review, services considered COVID-19–related were those using HCPCS codes identified as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in their billing descriptions or in related data. As a result, only services with explicit COVID-19 identifiers are tallied here, and other types of pandemic-linked care not billed under these codes are excluded.

Pittsburgh, for context, saw the highest amount of COVID-19–related Medicaid payments within Pennsylvania in 2024, reporting $266,441 in claims linked to the virus.

In 2024, Medicaid claims for COVID-19–related services in Danville were made by three providers. The COVID Specific code made up $5,763 of those payments.

On average, providers in Danville received $1,921 in Medicaid payments for COVID-19–coded services in 2024, which is lower than the Pennsylvania average of $6,645.

During the pandemic years, COVID-19–coded services led to an identifiable portion of increased Medicaid spending locally.

From 2020 to 2024, Medicaid payments across all claim types outside of COVID-19 rose by $41,370,750, reflecting a 359.5% increase.

In the two years before the pandemic, average annual Medicaid payments in Danville were at $3,079,888.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined state and federal Medicaid spending reached about $871.7 billion for fiscal year 2023. This represents about 18% of all national health spending, up significantly from $613.5 billion reported in 2019, before the COVID-19 emergency.

This growth, approximately 40% in a few years, is largely due to expansion in enrollment and greater use of services during and following the pandemic.

Federal budget changes under the Trump administration included proposed large cuts to Medicaid and restructuring efforts. For example, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over a decade, and sets new requirements such as work conditions and increased cost-sharing for beneficiaries. This legislation is predicted to reduce coverage and shift greater cost burdens to states as it limits future federal Medicaid spending, even though tens of millions still rely on the program.

Note: This includes only HCPCS codes specifically marked for COVID-19 services; totals do not cover all spending linked to the pandemic.

This article’s reporting is supported by information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Source data is available here.