Franklin saw $102,188 in Medicaid payments for COVID-19 services in 2024

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database shows Franklin received at least $102,188 in Medicaid payments in 2024 for services billed under HCPCS codes that specifically referenced COVID-19.

Medicaid, funded by both state and federal governments and managed by states, provides health coverage for qualifying low-income individuals, families, seniors, children and people with disabilities, making it a central part of the U.S. health care landscape.

Local Medicaid billing patterns impact how taxpayer dollars for health care are distributed within a community.

Researchers classified COVID-19–related services as those associated with HCPCS codes referencing “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in billing terms, meaning totals only include claims directly labeled as COVID-related in the dataset and do not account for pandemic care billed with more general codes.

For further perspective, Charlotte posted the highest Medicaid spending for COVID-19 services in North Carolina in 2024, reporting $2,373,883 in virus-linked claims.

Franklin’s average Medicaid payment per provider for COVID-19 services reached $51,094, which surpassed the state’s average of $37,126.

COVID-19–specific services contributed to the rise in Medicaid spending during the pandemic years in Franklin.

Total Medicaid payments for all other categories rose by $4,067,952 between 2020 and 2024, marking a 79.6% growth.

In the two years that led up to the pandemic, the average annual Medicaid payment in Franklin was $5,338,869.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, federal and state Medicaid expenditures combined reached approximately $871.7 billion during the 2023 fiscal year, making up roughly 18% of national health spending. That total marked a sharp increase from about $613.5 billion in 2019, before the pandemic began.

That change marks a roughly 40% increase in a matter of years, largely driven by greater enrollment and use during and after the pandemic.

Major federal budget bills passed during the Trump administration contained sweeping proposals to cut federal Medicaid contributions and revamp the program. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed in 2025, is expected to save more than $1 trillion under federal Medicaid over the next 10 years, introducing steps such as work requirements and expanded cost-sharing that stand to reduce eligibility and dollars for some Medicaid participants. The legislation could increase states’ financial responsibilities and restrain the expansion of federal payouts, even as Medicaid maintains coverage for 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.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database served as the data source for this article. Source data is available here.