At least $9,341 spent by Medicaid on COVID-19 services in Lutcher in 2024

At least $9,341 in Medicaid spending was allocated in Lutcher in 2024 for services billed using HCPCS codes designated for COVID-19, based on figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid is a state-managed public health insurance program supported jointly by the federal and state governments. The program provides coverage for low-income households, older adults, children and those with disabilities, making it a significant segment of the U.S. health care landscape.

Since Medicaid funding is taxpayer-derived, shifts in the amount billed locally illustrate how public health dollars are distributed within a community.

This review counted COVID-19–associated services by identifying HCPCS codes marked in billing or reference records as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus”-related. Accordingly, figures refer only to those procedures explicitly identified as COVID-related in the data and do not include pandemic-associated care billed under more general or other code descriptions.

For context, New Orleans registered the highest level of Medicaid payments connected to COVID-19 care among Louisiana cities in 2024, reaching $1,432,965 in related claims.

St. James Parish Hosp. Serv. Dist submitted the sole Medicaid claims for COVID-19–identified services in Lutcher in 2024, data show.

COVID-19–specific care formed part of Lutcher’s Medicaid spending rise during the pandemic years.

From 2020 to 2024, Medicaid payments under all other claim types increased by $1,836,102, a jump of 224.5%.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, federal and state contributions to Medicaid totaled about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up nearly 18% of overall U.S. health expenses—an increase from $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The jump amounts to around 40% growth over several years, driven mostly by continued higher enrollment and greater use of services during and after the pandemic period.

Recent federal budget laws signed during the Trump administration included major measures to scale back federal Medicaid funding and revise the program’s structure. For instance, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is projected to reduce federal Medicaid expenditures by over $1 trillion in the next decade while introducing work requirements and more cost-sharing that could restrict funding and coverage for some participants. States are expected to bear a larger share of the costs and see slower growth in federal support to Medicaid, despite the program’s coverage for 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 report uses data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The data source is available here.