Winona Medicaid spent at least $2,352 on COVID-19 services in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid disbursed a minimum of $2,352 in Winona for services billed under HCPCS codes specifically linked to COVID-19, utilizing data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid, administered by the states and jointly financed by federal and state governments, offers health insurance to low-income residents, older adults, children, and people with disabilities. This makes the program a key component of the nation’s health care system. For more information on Medicaid funding, see this Commonwealth Fund explainer.

Since Medicaid funding comes from taxpayers, fluctuations in local billing volumes provide insight into how public health care dollars are distributed across communities.

COVID-19 services in this review were identified using HCPCS codes with billing descriptions explicitly labeled as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus.” Therefore, the reported totals only include services directly labeled as COVID-related and do not account for pandemic-related care billed under less specific codes.

For context, Minneapolis reported the highest Medicaid claim total in Minnesota for COVID-19 services in 2024, reaching $269,940 for virus-related claims.

Winona Health Services was the sole provider submitting Medicaid claims under COVID-19–specific codes in the city throughout 2024, according to the data.

During the pandemic period, services coded specifically for COVID-19 represented a significant portion of the increase in Medicaid expenditures in Winona.

Average annual Medicaid spending in Winona was $8,249,688 in the two years before the pandemic began.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, federal and state Medicaid outlays totaled around $871.7 billion for fiscal year 2023, or nearly 18% of all national health expenditures—a substantial rise from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This increase marks about 40% growth over several years, mainly fueled by higher enrollment and increased use of services during and after the pandemic.

Recent federal legislation enacted during the Trump administration includes major changes to Medicaid funding. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is expected to reduce federal Medicaid financing by more than $1 trillion over the coming decade. The law introduces policies like work requirements and greater cost-sharing, which may reduce benefits and funding for some recipients, potentially increasing the financial burden on states and slowing the program’s expansion while Medicaid continues to serve millions nationwide.

Note: Only HCPCS codes designated specifically for COVID-19 services are included. These figures do not capture all pandemic-related medical costs.

This article’s information comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The underlying data is available here.