Murray Medicaid claims for COVID-19 services reached $6,547 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid paid at least $6,547 in Murray for services billed with HCPCS codes directly tied to COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

The states manage Medicaid, a health coverage program provided to low-income people, children, the elderly, and those with disabilities and funded in partnership by state and federal governments. It remains one of the nation’s largest health insurance programs.

Since taxpayers fund Medicaid, changes in the local levels of billing reveal how public health care resources are spent within specific communities.

This analysis identified COVID-19–related services through HCPCS codes listed with descriptions signifying “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in billing or reference materials. Accordingly, figures only include claims overtly labeled as COVID services in billing records and exclude pandemic care listed under other codes.

To compare, Salt Lake City had the highest Medicaid payments related to COVID-19 services in Utah for 2024, which totaled $39,316 in recognized virus-associated claims.

Three Murray providers processed Medicaid claims for COVID-19–related care in 2024, with the COVID Specific code making up $6,383 of that total.

For context, Murray’s average Medicaid payment per provider for COVID-related services was $2,182, which is less than Utah’s statewide average of $3,456.

COVID-19–specific services contributed significantly to rising Medicaid spending in Murray during the pandemic.

Average annual Medicaid payments in Murray over the two years prior to the pandemic came to $24,133,348.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the combination of state and federal Medicaid outlays totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, which represented about 18% of all U.S. health spending, marking a significant jump from around $613.5 billion in 2019, before COVID-19.

This increase reflects about 40% growth in a few years, largely due to broadened Medicaid enrollment and greater demand for services tied to the pandemic period.

Major recent federal budget legislation from the Trump administration introduced measures to decrease federal Medicaid contributions and alter the structure of the program. As an example, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is estimated to trim more than $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending over 10 years and brings in work mandates and higher cost-sharing, possibly decreasing coverage and support for some. The changes are anticipated to shift more financial responsibility to states and could limit Medicaid growth at the federal level, while millions of Americans continue to depend on the program.

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

The information in this article comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Access the source data here.