Workers’ comp report looks at the effects of long COVID

Boca Raton, FL — A new report from the National Council on Compensation Insurance shows that about a quarter of workers’ comp claims involving COVID-19 were for patients who developed long COVID.

For the report, researchers analyzed NCCI data on workers’ comp claims from March 2020 through June 2021 and medical services provided through this past March. The researchers identified almost 7,700 COVID-19-related claims, with payments of more than $120 million. Of those claims, 24% were for patients who developed long COVID, or when symptoms of the illness – including fatigue, shortness of breath, “brain fog,” heart palpitations, headaches, anxiety and depression – last three months or longer. Additionally, of the patients who were hospitalized, 47% developed long COVID, compared with 20% of nonhospitalized patients.

Other key findings:

• Cardiovascular and pulmonary symptoms were the most common among the patients who developed long COVID.
• In terms of demographics, women and health care workers experienced long COVID most often. Almost a third of long COVID workers’ comp claims were for people ages 51-60.
• The average cost of a hospitalized worker with long COVID was around $216,000, more than five times higher than the average cost for nonhospitalized workers.

The study builds on an NCCI report published in October 2021 titled COVID-19 and The New Reality – Prolonged COVID.