Hensley Medicaid providers submit at least $770 in COVID-19 claims in 2024

Hensley saw a minimum of $770 in Medicaid payments in 2024 for services billed under HCPCS codes explicitly related to COVID-19, based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database.

This article’s comparisons to earlier years are based on the most recently available annual data.

Medicaid, run by individual states and funded cooperatively by federal and state governments, covers low-income families and individuals, seniors, children, and those with disabilities, positioning it as one of the nation’s largest health care programs.

Shifts in local Medicaid billing help illustrate how community public health dollars are distributed, as Medicaid draws on taxpayer resources.

For this report, COVID-19–related billing was determined using HCPCS codes marked as “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in descriptions or official coding references. These figures count only services distinctly labeled as COVID-related, without capturing pandemic care billed under more general codes.

By comparison, in 2024, Jonesboro reported the state’s highest Medicaid payments for COVID-19 services, totaling $328,664 in related claims.

To provide perspective, the average COVID-19–related Medicaid payment per provider in Hensley stood at $385, below the Arkansas state average of $12,964.

Between 2021 and 2024, Medicaid payments across all other claim groups in Hensley increased by $62,706—a 757.6% boost.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data show that federal and state Medicaid spending reached about $871.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, or around 18% of all U.S. health expenditures, up significantly from approximately $613.5 billion in 2019 before the onset of COVID-19.

This marks a growth of close to 40% in just a few years, primarily due to increased enrollment and greater use during and following the pandemic.

Recent federal budget policies during the Trump administration have included major proposals aimed at cutting federal Medicaid funding and restructuring how the program operates. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in 2025, is projected to reduce federal Medicaid spending by over $1 trillion over a decade, adding measures like work requirements and more cost-sharing. These moves could decrease coverage for some enrollees and increase states’ share of Medicaid program costs, even as the program continues to support millions of Americans.

Note: Only HCPCS codes specifically designated for COVID-19 services are included in totals; figures do not cover all health care spending related to the pandemic.

The data underlying this article comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid Provider Spending database. Source information is available here.