At least $26,643 in Medicaid spending tied to COVID-19 care in Germantown in 2024

In 2024, Germantown providers collected a minimum of $26,643 in Medicaid payments for services billed using HCPCS codes specifically tied to COVID-19, according to information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid, a health coverage program operated by states and supported through state and federal funding, covers a wide range of Americans, including low-income individuals, seniors, children, and people with disabilities. It remains one of the largest segments of the national health care system.

Because Medicaid is financed by taxpayers, shifts in local billing offer a look at how public health care resources are distributed throughout the community.

This review used HCPCS codes marked as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in billing references to identify relevant services. Thus, the reported totals capture only those services directly labeled as COVID-related and may not encompass all health care connected to the pandemic that might fall under more general medical codes.

As a point of reference, the highest Medicaid payments for COVID-19 services in Maryland in 2024 were reported in Rockville, where virus-related claims reached $430,231.

Three Germantown providers billed Medicaid for COVID-19–related services in 2024. The predominantly used code was COVID Specific, which represented $20,188 of billing.

On average, Medicaid providers in Germantown received $8,881 each for COVID-19–related care, less than Maryland’s statewide average of $24,157 per provider.

During the pandemic, services directly related to COVID-19 contributed to a noticeable rise in Medicaid expenses in Germantown.

Between 2020 and 2024, overall Medicaid payments across categories other than COVID-19 grew by $13,060,712 in Germantown, an increase of 97.7%.

Prior to the pandemic, the community averaged $11,508,821 in annual Medicaid payments over a two-year period.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid costs reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023. That equaled approximately 18% of nationwide health care expenses and rose sharply from $613.5 billion in 2019, before the pandemic began.

This rise—roughly 40% in just a few years—resulted mainly from enrollment growth and higher service use during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal budget actions under the Trump administration have put forward major changes to Medicaid at the national scale. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion during the next 10 years and implements steps such as work requirements and added cost-sharing, potentially impacting coverage and financial support for some enrolled individuals. These policy shifts are likely to increase states’ expenditure responsibility and constrain future federal growth within the Medicaid system, even as it continues covering millions of Americans.

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

Details in this report draw from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The original source is available here.