Savannah Medicaid providers reported $34,341 in COVID-19–related payments in 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows Savannah’s Medicaid payments reached at least $34,341 in 2024 for services billed with HCPCS codes directly linked to COVID-19.

Medicaid, one of the largest U.S. health care programs, is jointly funded by state and federal governments and administered by individual states. The program provides health coverage to low-income families, seniors, children, and those with disabilities. For more details on Medicaid’s funding, see the Commonwealth Fund.

Since Medicaid is funded by taxpayers, shifts in local billing offer insight into how public health care resources are spent within communities.

This analysis reviewed COVID-19–related HCPCS codes labeled in billing descriptions as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus”-specific in available data. The dataset only includes claims explicitly categorized that way, meaning other pandemic-related treatments billed under different codes are not reflected in these figures.

For comparison, Spring Hill recorded Tennessee’s highest Medicaid payments for COVID-19–related services in 2024, with virus-related claims totaling $4,274,403.

On average, Medicaid providers in Savannah received $17,170 for COVID-19–associated services, below the Tennessee state average of $43,799.

COVID-19–coded services contributed significantly to growth in Savannah’s Medicaid spending during the pandemic years.

From 2020 to 2024, Medicaid payments across all other claims in Savannah increased by $313,470—a 9.6% gain.

The two years before the pandemic saw average yearly Medicaid payments in Savannah at $3,497,594.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services report that combined federal and state Medicaid spending was about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, equivalent to 18% of all national health expenditures. This marked a considerable rise from $613.5 billion in 2019, the year before the pandemic began.

This reflects about 40% growth over that timeframe, primarily due to greater enrollment and increased service utilization during and following the pandemic.

Recent federal budget measures under the Trump administration have featured large-scale proposals to constrict federal Medicaid funds and alter the structure of the program. Notably, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, signed in 2025, is set to reduce projected federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over 10 years. The legislation introduces requirements such as mandatory work provisions and higher out-of-pocket costs, potentially restricting coverage and federal assistance for some users. States are expected to assume a larger portion of Medicaid spending, likely constraining future federal growth even as Medicaid continues to serve tens of millions nationwide.

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

The information for this report is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Readers can access the dataset here.