Over 11 million Americans have been affected by long COVID, which presents with persistent symptoms lasting for months. A New Republic reporter, Karina Piser, joins PBS NewsHour to discuss the condition and how it’s revealed inequities in care.

During the spring of 2021, a year after the pandemic took off, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created a billable insurance code for long COVID. This code allows people to report their symptoms and get treatment while helping insurers capture how many Americans the condition has affected. “Without a billable insurance code, it will be very difficult to track,” Piser explains.

Challenges for Low-Income and Rural Communities

People of low-income communities have had trouble accessing care even after the code became available. For example, safety-net hospitals, which are medical centers required to serve anyone who walks through the door, regardless of insurance status, are not equipped to handle an influx of patients, nor do they have the financial means to create a long-COVID clinic.

People in rural communities also faced challenges accessing care since hospitals have decreased significantly over the past ten years. Long-COVID clinics are often exclusive to major cities. Rural residents may not be able to travel to these facilities or even know they exist. Additionally, “It’s difficult [for this population] to miss work,” says Piser.

Coverage of Long COVID as a Disability

Although long-COVID patients may now be eligible for disability, it’s been a hard-fought battle for those affected. A nurse leader in Atlanta requested disability for her long-COVID symptoms and was denied. She said that her symptoms were considered behavioral health issues, such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Whether or not she is experiencing anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder is kind of beside the point because she tells me that she is walking using a walker,” explains Piser. The nurse leader was very physically active, pre-COVID infection, but now requires a walker to go on walks and loses her breath during phone calls. 

Unfortunately, the act of dismissing one’s symptoms is something that women and people of color often face in most medical contexts, but particularly in the context of long COVID.

*Sreenivasan, H. (2021, August 7).COVID-19 exposed our inequities. Long COVID may exacerbate them. PBS NewsHour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/covid-19-exposed-our-inequities-long-covid-may-exacerbate-them

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