Lexington Medicaid paid at least $116,026 for COVID-19 services in 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database show at least $116,026 in Lexington Medicaid payments in 2024 for services billed under HCPCS codes tied specifically to COVID-19 care.

Medicaid is a public insurance program that is managed by individual states and receives funding from both federal and state governments. The program offers coverage to low-income people and families, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, making it a major component of the U.S. health care system.

Because taxpayer dollars fund Medicaid, shifts in local billing over time reflect how public resources for health care are distributed at the community level.

This review identified COVID-19–related services by using HCPCS codes specifically marked or classified as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in official billing records or accompanying reference materials. The totals reported only include services directly marked as COVID-19–related within the coding and may not account for care linked to the pandemic but billed differently.

To provide context, Spring Hill had Tennessee’s highest Medicaid payments linked to COVID-19 services in 2024, with claims totaling $4,274,403.

Three providers in Lexington billed Medicaid for COVID-19–coded services in 2024. The Immunoassay code represented $85,110 of these claims, making it one of the most frequently billed codes for the virus.

The mean Medicaid payment per Lexington provider handling COVID-19–related services was $38,675—an amount below the statewide average of $43,799.

Years marked by the pandemic saw COVID-19–specific services contribute significantly to increases in Medicaid spending in Lexington.

Across all other Medicaid claim categories, total payments increased by $444,050 between 2020 and 2024, a 14.3% rise.

Before the pandemic years, average yearly Medicaid payments in Lexington stood at $2,815,160.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, federal and state Medicaid spending combined reached approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023. That represented about 18% of total national health care expenditures, a notable increase from $613.5 billion in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This nearly 40% rise has been attributed mainly to expanded Medicaid enrollment and higher usage during and after the pandemic.

Recent legislation under the Trump administration featured major plans to scale back the federal Medicaid budget and change program structure. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is estimated to cut federal Medicaid funding by over $1 trillion during the next decade. The law brings work requirements and more cost-sharing for some covered individuals, which could decrease both coverage and funding and is expected to place greater financial responsibility and constraints on state governments as federal support moderates, while the program continues to serve tens of millions nationwide.

Note: Includes only HCPCS codes explicitly labeled for COVID-19 services; does not capture all types of pandemic-related health care expenses.

The information in this story comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. You can find the source data here.