Milwaukee Medicaid COVID-19 service claims hit $561,957 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid payments in Milwaukee for the treatment of COVID-19—identified by HCPCS codes tied specifically to the virus—reached at least $561,957, based on information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid serves as a public health insurance program, managed on a state level and financed collectively by federal and state governments. Providing coverage to low-income groups, including families, seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities, Medicaid forms a significant portion of the nation’s health care infrastructure.

Because taxpayer contributions fund Medicaid, shifts in local claim amounts offer insight into how public health resources are distributed regionally.

For this report, HCPCS billing data labeled or coded as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” determined which services counted as COVID-related. The resulting figures include only those services described as directly COVID-related in such billing information and do not account for other pandemic care billed using broader or alternative codes.

Among all counties in Wisconsin, Milwaukee showed the largest Medicaid payment total connected to COVID-19 services in 2024.

Twenty-two Milwaukee providers submitted COVID-19–specific claims to Medicaid during the year. The most frequently billed code, COVID Specific, accounted for $470,121.

On average, each Milwaukee Medicaid provider billed $25,544 for COVID-19–related services, surpassing the statewide average of $10,616 per provider.

COVID-19–labeled services fueled considerable Medicaid spending growth during the pandemic years in Milwaukee.

Total Medicaid payments across other claim categories grew by $98,757,090 from 2020 to 2024, marking an increase of 34%.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid spending rose to about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, equating to approximately 18% of all national health expenditures. That marks a significant increase from roughly $613.5 billion in 2019, ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset.

This upward trend represents approximately 40% growth in a few years, propelled by larger enrollment numbers and increased service usage throughout and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget acts implemented under the Trump administration introduced major proposals to scale back federal Medicaid spending and rework program rules. One example, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to cut more than $1 trillion from federal Medicaid funding over the coming decade. It also brings policy shifts like work requirements and higher cost-sharing, measures that could restrict benefits and resources for some enrollees. Responsibility for expenses is likely to increase for states, while federal support for Medicaid will be controlled even as the program remains widely used.

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

The information provided above is sourced from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Access the original dataset here.