Watervliet Medicaid COVID-19 service payments total $2,639 in 2024

Watervliet recorded a minimum of $2,639 in Medicaid payments for COVID-19–specific services billed under relevant HCPCS codes in 2024, based on information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. This figure marks a 10.2% rise over 2023, when $2,394 in claims for these codes were reported by area providers.

Medicaid, a statewide public health insurance initiative funded jointly by state and federal governments, covers individuals and families with low incomes, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, making it a core component of the nation’s health care network.

Taxpayer revenue funds Medicaid payments, meaning any shift in local billing levels reveals changes in how public health funds are spent in a community.

This analysis identified COVID-19–related services through HCPCS codes marked or categorized as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” within billing descriptions or data references. Figures are limited to services explicitly identified as COVID-related through medical billing and do not reflect additional pandemic care billed under more general or alternate coding.

On a broader scale, Detroit led Michigan with $432,564 in Medicaid COVID-19–related claims for 2024.

In Watervliet, Lakeland Community Hospital Watervliet was the only facility submitting claims linked to COVID-19 HCPCS codes throughout 2024.

Throughout the main pandemic years, COVID-19–specific claims contributed to an evident uptick in Medicaid expenditures in Watervliet.

Overall, Medicaid payments from categories outside pandemic-related claims rose by $651,225 between 2020 and 2024, a gain of 48.6%.

The two full years prior to the pandemic saw Watervliet’s Medicaid payments average $1,446,631 each year.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined state and federal Medicaid spending reached nearly $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023 and made up about 18% of all national health outlays. This is a notable increase from $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 crisis.

This boost represents roughly 40% growth in a few years, fueled mainly by expanded eligibility and greater use during and following the pandemic.

Recent budget measures under the Trump administration featured substantial steps to curtail federal Medicaid funding and alter its structure. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, aims to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion during the coming decade. The law introduces work requirements and increased cost-sharing, likely affecting beneficiary coverage and shifting more financial burden to states. These reforms are expected to limit the pace of federal spending growth, even as Medicaid continues to serve millions nationwide.

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

This report used data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Source data is accessible here.