COVID-19 services generated at least $295,634 in Greenville Medicaid claims in 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database show Greenville recorded at least $295,634 in Medicaid payments for services billed under HCPCS codes directly linked to COVID-19 in 2024.

Medicaid, funded cooperatively by state and federal governments, is a state-run health coverage program that serves low-income individuals, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, representing one of the largest segments of the U.S. health care landscape.

These payment figures, drawn from public sources, illustrate how taxpayer-funded health spending is aimed at health care needs in local communities.

This analysis defines COVID-19–related services by flagging HCPCS codes labeled as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in provider billing or reference files. Therefore, only services expressly noted as COVID-19–specific in billing documentation are included, and the data may exclude broader pandemic care billed with other codes.

For perspective, Columbia registered the state’s highest Medicaid total for COVID-19 claims in 2024, at $1,102,671.

In Greenville, 10 providers billed Medicaid for COVID-19–specific services in 2024, with the ‘COVID Specific’ code comprising $194,921 of the overall amount.

The average per-provider Medicaid payment for COVID-19–related care in Greenville reached $29,563, falling below South Carolina’s average of $37,377.

Over the pandemic years, COVID-19–targeted claims were a major driver of Medicaid spending growth in Greenville.

Total payments for all other Medicaid claim types increased by $27,337,186 from 2020 through 2024, a 19.4% rise.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, joint federal and state Medicaid spending climbed to around $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, making up roughly 18% of total U.S. health expenditures. This total was up sharply from about $613.5 billion in 2019, prior to the pandemic emergence.

This jump marks about 40% growth over a few years, primarily attributed to higher enrollment numbers and increased healthcare service use during and after the declared pandemic emergency.

Federal budget measures under the Trump administration included substantial proposals to pare down federal Medicaid outlays. Passed into law in 2025, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion in the coming decade, introducing work requirements and higher out-of-pocket costs for some, which may limit both coverage and state funding levels as more responsibility shifts to state governments even as the program continues to support tens of millions nationwide.

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

This article is based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Original data are available here.