Woonsocket Medicaid claims for COVID-19 services surpassed $860 in 2024

In 2024, Medicaid paid out at least $863 in Woonsocket for services billed with HCPCS codes specifically identified as COVID-19 related, using information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

Medicaid operates as a state-managed public health program funded through a partnership between federal and state governments. The program provides health coverage for low-income residents, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, ranking among the most significant sectors in the U.S. health care system.

Fluctuations in Medicaid billing at the local level reveal how public health dollars are distributed within a community since the program is taxpayer funded.

COVID-19–related services in this analysis were determined using HCPCS codes tagged or flagged as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in billing records or coding files. Numbers only include services directly listed as COVID-19 care in claim data and omit unrelated pandemic care that might be coded differently.

Elsewhere in Rhode Island, Providence saw the largest Medicaid payout in 2024 for COVID-19 services, with $172,152 in claims associated with virus-specific codes.

Records indicate Thundermist Health Center was the sole provider to file Medicaid claims for COVID-19–linked services in Woonsocket throughout 2024.

Payments for all other Medicaid claim types increased by $20,018,277 from 2020 to 2024—a growth of 53.3%.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, state and federal spending on Medicaid totaled approximately $871.7 billion in the 2023 fiscal year, accounting for about 18% of national health expenditures—up from $613.5 billion in 2019, before the emergence of COVID-19.

This increase marks a roughly 40% rise within a few years, primarily fueled by greater enrollment and growing demand for services amid and following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent federal budget laws under the Trump administration have introduced strong proposals to trim federal Medicaid outlays and alter the program. One example is the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, which is projected to cut over $1 trillion in Medicaid funding over the coming decade. It also includes changes like adding work requirements and raising cost-sharing, potentially leading states to shoulder more costs and constraining federal Medicaid growth, while coverage extends to tens of millions of beneficiaries.

Note: Totals represent only HCPCS codes marked for COVID-19 services and do not account for all pandemic health care costs.

This report sources its information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. The original database can be accessed here.