Ramsey Medicaid COVID-19 claims exceed $780 in 2024, with 17.3% billed during peak pandemic years

At least $784 in Medicaid payments was made in Ramsey in 2024 for services billed under HCPCS codes specifically tied to COVID-19, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows.

Medicaid, one of the largest health care programs in the U.S., is managed by the states and funded with both state and federal dollars. It provides coverage to low-income individuals, families, children, seniors and people living with disabilities.

Because Medicaid is taxpayer-funded, trends in local billing show where public health funding is being allocated within communities.

This analysis focused on services billed under HCPCS codes identified or described as being associated with “COVID-19” or “coronavirus.” Thus, these figures reflect services clearly marked as COVID-related in billing data, but do not include pandemic care under less-specific or differently labeled codes.

For context, Clifton reported the highest COVID-19-related Medicaid payments in New Jersey for 2024, with virus-related claims totaling $1,725,516.

The records indicate Neogenomics Laboratories Inc was the lone provider billing Medicaid for COVID-19–related services in Ramsey during 2024.

During pandemic years, services labeled COVID-19–specific made up a significant portion of Medicaid spending growth in Ramsey.

Across all other types of Medicaid claims, payments increased by $148,530 from 2020 to 2024, an overall growth of 70%.

In the years before the pandemic, annual Medicaid payments in Ramsey averaged $202,798.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that combined federal and state Medicaid spending reached roughly $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up about 18% of all U.S. health expenditures. This is an increase from about $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

This jump marks nearly 40% growth over several years, largely due to increased enrollment and greater demand for services during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budgeting during the Trump administration included major efforts to reduce Medicaid funding and restructure the program. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in 2025, is estimated to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion in the next decade. The law imposes work requirements and cost-sharing measures that may decrease coverage and funding for some enrollees. States are expected to take on more expense as federal growth in support becomes limited, while the program continues to serve tens of millions of Americans.

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

This article draws from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Source data is available here.