Raritan Medicaid spending for COVID-19 services totals $1,249,920 in 2024

According to data reported in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database, at least $1,249,920 in Medicaid reimbursements were issued in Raritan in 2024 for services identified by HCPCS codes specifically related to COVID-19.

Medicaid operates as a public health insurance system overseen by each state and financed through joint federal and state funding. It serves low-income groups, older adults, children and individuals with disabilities, and remains a key component of U.S. health care coverage.

Since Medicaid payments derive from public tax dollars, trends in local claim levels indicate how community health funding is distributed.

For this analysis, analysts identified COVID-19–related Medicaid claims using HCPCS codes categorized or listed as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” within billing data or associated references. Accordingly, figures reflect only claims explicitly designated as COVID-19 in billing submissions and do not include services linked to the pandemic billed under other codes.

Clifton saw the highest Medicaid payments for COVID-19–linked services among all New Jersey localities in 2024, with virus-associated claims totaling $1,725,516.

Only one provider—Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings—filed Medicaid reimbursement claims in the COVID-19 category within Raritan city during 2024, data indicated.

COVID-19–focused services made up a substantial proportion of Medicaid spending growth in Raritan during the pandemic period.

All other Medicaid claim types in Raritan saw total payments rise by $27,517,966 between 2020 and 2024—an increase of 28.7%.

During the two years leading up to the pandemic, Raritan reported average annual Medicaid spending of $89,793,317.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported that combined Medicaid spending by federal and state governments climbed to approximately $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023. That equaled about 18% of overall national health expenditures and marked a steep rise from the $613.5 billion reported in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

This growth of around 40% over just a few years reflected greater enrollment and higher usage rates during and after the pandemic.

Recent major federal budget laws approved under the Trump administration have included measures that would reduce Medicaid funding at the federal level and change the structure of the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which became law in 2025, is anticipated to decrease federal Medicaid expenditures by more than $1 trillion during the next 10 years and impose increased cost-sharing policies and work requirements. These measures may reduce benefits and coverage for certain beneficiaries. The changes are expected to transfer more fiscal responsibility to the states and could restrict federal Medicaid aid moving forward, even as the program covers tens of millions nationwide.

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

The information in this report relies on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. A link to the source data is available here.