Lakewood Medicaid disbursements for COVID-19 services reached $23,882 in 2024

At least $23,882 in Medicaid funds were paid in Lakewood in 2024 for claims utilizing HCPCS codes specific to COVID-19, based on data provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid, operated by states and funded by both state and federal governments, insures low-income people, seniors, children and those with disabilities. The program forms a substantial portion of the U.S. health care infrastructure.

With Medicaid funded through tax revenue, variation in local claims demonstrates how a community directs public health funds.

This review defined COVID-19–related claims through HCPCS codes tagged as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in billing definitions or datasets. Consequently, data presented includes only claims explicitly coded as COVID-related, and it does not encompass services connected to the pandemic that could be included under broader or alternative codes.

By comparison, Denver reported the highest total for Medicaid claims flagged as COVID-19–related in Colorado for 2024, reaching $374,099.

Seven Lakewood providers billed Medicaid under COVID-19–designated codes in 2024. The code representing COVID-19 Vaccine Administration constituted $14,956 of these claims.

To provide perspective, Lakewood saw an average Medicaid disbursement per provider of $3,412 for services linked to COVID-19, falling below the state average, which was $5,841.

During pandemic years, direct COVID-19 services accounted for significant growth in Medicaid disbursements to Lakewood providers.

Across all other claim types, Medicaid payments rose by $58,526,544 from 2020 to 2024, marking a 50.2% uptick.

Average annual Medicaid payments for Lakewood in the two years leading up to the pandemic stood at $107,369,440.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data shows that total state and federal outlays on Medicaid topped $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, or about 18% of all national health spending, rising steeply from about $613.5 billion in 2019, before the onset of COVID-19.

The expansion points to a roughly 40% surge over a short span, primarily linked to broader enrollment and higher service use in and after the pandemic period.

Budget actions at the federal level under the Trump administration featured substantial proposals aimed at cutting federal Medicaid contributions and restructuring the initiative. Notably, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is estimated to decrease federal Medicaid expenditures by over $1 trillion over 10 years and enacts policies including work requirements and increased cost-sharing, potentially reducing both funding and coverage for some recipients. These adjustments are set to increase fiscal responsibility for states while capping federal Medicaid expansion, yet the program continues serving millions across the nation.

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

This report’s data comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Source data is available here.