Health

Long Covid is Showing Up in Medical Claims

Aug. 22, 2023

"At an average of 18 months of post-infection experience, these workers received more than 20 weeks of temporary disability benefits and received about $29,000 in medical care, ” a new study finds.

EHS Today Staff

A year after contracting COVID-19, 6% of workers were still receiving medical care due to the effects of long-term COVID, according to a new study from Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).

This study expands prior evidence from early in the pandemic, showing persistent rates of long COVID infections through 2021.

“Our main takeaways for workers’ compensation policymakers and stakeholders are that long COVID continued to affect a meaningful share of workers with COVID-19 infections, and that was an important driver of claim costs,” said Ramona Tanabe, CEO of WCRI, in a statement. "At an average of 18 months of post-infection experience, these workers received more than 20 weeks of temporary disability benefits and received about $29,000 in medical care.”

The study, Long COVID in the Workers' Compensation System in 2020 and 2021, provides insights into workers’ recoveries from COVID-19. The study addresses the following questions:

What is the prevalence of long COVID among workers with COVID-19?
What are the costs of long COVID claims?
What is the duration of temporary disability benefits among workers with long COVID?
What are the industry and worker characteristics associated with long COVID?
How do rates of long COVID vary across states?

The analysis includes COVID-19 cases reported with a date of infection between March 2020 and September 2021. For each claim, we collected information on medical care and income benefits that were provided through the end of March 2022, across 31 states.

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeek, EHS Today, Material Handling & Logistics, Logistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor: Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.