Lake Forest Medicaid COVID-19 billing reached $128,553 in 2024

In 2024, Lake Forest Medicaid recipients generated at least $128,553 in payments for services billed under HCPCS codes directly associated with COVID-19, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database show.

Medicaid, a health insurance program jointly funded by federal and state governments and operated by the states, provides coverage for low-income individuals and families, seniors, children and people with disabilities. As one of the largest health care payers in the U.S., it covers millions across the nation.

Because Medicaid funding is derived from taxpayers, shifts in local billing demonstrate how public health resources are distributed throughout a community.

For this report, COVID-19–related services are counted by identifying HCPCS codes labeled “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in billing descriptions or reference data. This method limits the results to services directly labeled as COVID-related, so care billed under more general codes is not reflected in this data.

San Jose had the highest Medicaid claims for COVID-19 services among California cities in 2024, with $5,601,479 linked to such payments.

Comparatively, providers in Lake Forest averaged $64,276 in Medicaid payments for COVID-19 services, exceeding the state mean of $52,976.

During pandemic years, services specific to COVID-19 drove measurable increases in Medicaid spending within Lake Forest.

Over the two years before the pandemic, Lake Forest’s average annual Medicaid payments totaled $3,297,846.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined federal and state Medicaid expenditures were approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, making up around 18% of the national health expenditure total, a significant increase from $613.5 billion in 2019 before the pandemic began.

This change marks a nearly 40% rise in only a few years, largely attributed to broader enrollment and increased utilization throughout and following the pandemic.

Recent federal budget measures enacted during the Trump administration, such as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” approved in 2025, are expected to reduce federal Medicaid support by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. The law introduces work requirements, higher cost-sharing, and other changes that may decrease funding and coverage for certain beneficiaries, shifting more costs onto states while the program continues to serve millions nationwide.

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

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