Medicaid claims for COVID-related care in Norristown reached $431 in 2024

At least $431 in Medicaid payments were made in Norristown in 2024 for services billed with HCPCS codes designated for COVID-19, based on information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid is a government health insurance program operated by the states and funded through federal and state partnerships. Its coverage extends to low-income individuals and families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities, making it a significant component of the U.S. health care landscape.

Because Medicaid is financed with taxpayer dollars, fluctuations in billing provide insight into how government health funds are utilized in a specific community.

COVID-19–related services for this report were counted through HCPCS codes that are labeled directly as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in billing descriptions or supporting data. Therefore, the reported amounts cover only those health care services specifically designated as COVID-related in the billing and might exclude pandemic-related treatments billed by other codes.

As a reference point, Pittsburgh had the highest Medicaid payments for COVID-19 services in Pennsylvania in 2024, amounting to $266,441 in related claims.

On average, Medicaid payments per provider for COVID-19–related services in Norristown were $215, considerably below the statewide average of $6,645.

During the years of the pandemic, COVID-19–specific services were a primary factor behind the increase in Medicaid spending seen in Norristown.

Overall Medicaid payments for other categories of care increased by $10,304,907 from 2020 to 2024, or 152.6%.

Looking at the two years prior to the pandemic, Norristown’s average yearly Medicaid payments were $2,449,257.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total state and federal spending on Medicaid hit approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up about 18% of overall national health spending, a sharp rise from about $613.5 billion in 2019, before the pandemic.

This growth equates to a nearly 40% increase within a few years, and was largely due to expanded enrollment and greater use of health services driven by and following the pandemic period.

Recent federal budget actions enacted during the Trump administration featured significant plans to slash federal Medicaid funding and rework elements of the program. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is expected to cut federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion through the next decade while establishing policies such as work requirements and more cost-sharing, potentially reducing benefits and coverage for certain populations. These policy changes are projected to shift more of the program’s costs to states and limit federal Medicaid expansion as the program continues serving tens of millions nationwide.

Note: Totals only include services using HCPCS codes explicitly labeled as COVID-19; they do not account for all health expenditures tied to the pandemic.

This reporting uses data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. You can access the source information here.