Long COVID Sickness Benefits – A thing of the Future

According to the latest info, most of S.S.B.’s sickness claims since the COVID pandemic have been for upper respiratory illnesses. While it’s pretty straightforward for patients to claim sickness benefits for these conditions, it’s going to take a lot longer before we can claim for anything related to long COVID or lingering health issues from COVID. The reason? It’s still tough to get a definitive diagnosis for long COVID, and we won’t have enough data to make those connections for at least another ten years. Plus, the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization are still in the early stages of developing the diagnostic codes doctors need to identify long COVID-related illnesses. Sean Sebastian, S.S.B.’s Manager of Research and Analysis Services, explained the lengthy process before these options can even make it onto the sick forms that doctors fill out.

 

Sean Sebastian, Manager, Research & Analysis Services, S.S.B.

“When we collect data, the sickness benefit claims data, we use a data classification system called ICD 11. It’s International Classification of Disease, version 11. That’s the most recent version of that system in the world right now, so we are already using that at Social Security Board. But that paper came out in 2024, so they haven’t included that sickness code into the International Classification of Diseases system as yet. So as soon as that is done, we will update our system and include that so the doctors would have that code to correctly classify or identify the Long COVID diagnosis, and then we’ll be able to accurately measure and report on the impact that Long COVID has had on our working population.”