Duarte Medicaid providers received at least $6,275 for COVID-19 services in 2024

In Duarte, Medicaid payments for services identified by COVID-19-specific HCPCS codes reached at least $6,275 in 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows.

Medicaid, a public insurance initiative administered by the states and co-funded by federal and state governments, covers low-income families and individuals, seniors, children, and people with disabilities. This makes it a major pillar of the U.S. health system.

Since taxpayer funds support Medicaid, fluctuations in local billing levels highlight how public health care resources are distributed within communities.

This analysis focused on services with HCPCS codes labeled or classified as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in billing data or reference descriptions. As such, the totals include only care explicitly marked as COVID-related, so broader pandemic care billed differently is not captured here.

San Jose, by comparison, saw the highest Medicaid COVID-19 payments statewide in 2024, with $5,601,479 in claims for virus-related care.

Only City Of Hope National Medical Center submitted claims to Medicaid for COVID-19–labeled services in Duarte during 2024, the data indicates.

During the pandemic years, spending on COVID-19–related services drove much of the rise in Medicaid payments in Duarte.

From 2020 to 2024, Medicaid payments for all other claims in Duarte rose by $44,284,596, marking a 253.9% increase.

In the two years ahead of the pandemic, Duarte’s average yearly Medicaid payments were $18,959,187.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined Medicaid spending by federal and state governments reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal 2023, or roughly 18% of U.S. health costs—up from about $613.5 billion in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This growth amounts to nearly 40% over several years, fueled by expanded rolls and greater service use during and after the public health emergency.

Recent federal budget measures under the Trump administration have put forward significant federal Medicaid funding reductions and structural changes. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is projected to cut federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion in the coming decade and includes provisions such as new work requirements and higher cost-sharing. As a result, some beneficiaries could see reduced coverage and increased financial responsibility, with costs shifting more toward states as federal growth slows, even as Medicaid 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 is based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database, available here.