Johnstown Medicaid spending linked to COVID-19 services totaled $31,453 in 2024

At least $31,453 in Medicaid payments were recorded in Johnstown in 2024 for services billed with HCPCS codes specifically tied to COVID-19, using figures provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid, a public health insurance program managed by the states and financed jointly between federal and state governments, supports low-income people and families, older adults, children, and those with disabilities, representing a significant component of the nation’s health care system.

Taxpayers fund Medicaid, so local shifts in billing levels indicate how a community’s public health care funding is distributed.

Analysts classified COVID-19–related services as those billed using HCPCS codes listed or identified as “COVID-19” or containing “coronavirus” in their billing descriptions or reference materials. These data thus account only for services distinctly labeled as COVID-related, which may leave out pandemic care filed under wider or different codes.

Pittsburgh led all Pennsylvania locations for COVID-19–related Medicaid sums in 2024 at $266,441 in claims associated with the virus for comparison.

The only provider submitting Medicaid claims for COVID-19–specific services in Johnstown in 2024 was Dlp Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center LLC, the data shows.

Throughout the pandemic era, spending connected to COVID-19–identified services contributed notably to the rise in Medicaid costs in Johnstown.

Other Medicaid categories saw a total increase of $47,634,588 between 2020 and 2024, a rise of 523.3% during that period.

During the two years before the pandemic, Johnstown’s average Medicaid payment level was $1,341,206 per year.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, total state and federal spending on Medicaid reached about $871.7 billion in the 2023 fiscal year, making up roughly 18% of all U.S. health expenditures. This figure has climbed sharply from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019, ahead of the COVID-19 crisis.

This growth amounts to an increase of nearly 40% in just several years, largely driven by broader enrollment and greater use of Medicaid services during and following the pandemic period.

Recent federal budget laws signed during the Trump administration brought notable provisions to curb federal Medicaid funding and make structural changes. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” for instance, enacted in 2025, is estimated to trim federal Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade, while instituting work requirements and greater cost-sharing responsibilities. Such adjustments may decrease benefits and overall spending, shifting additional costs to states, but the program continues to support tens of millions across the country.

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

Details for this report were sourced from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Review the original dataset here.