NCCI Releases First Look At Long COVID in Workers Compensation

WHAT: This is the first in-depth report of the impact of long COVID on injured workers and the workers compensation (WC) system.

KEY INSIGHTS:

• 24 percent of WC COVID patients experienced long COVID (page 9)
• 47 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 WC patients developed long COVID.  20 percent of nonhospitalized WC patients developed long COVID. (Page 9)
• Pulmonary and cardiovascular symptoms were the most common for long COVID WC patients. (Pages 10-13)
• Nearly one-third of long COVID WC claims were for workers ages 51-60. (Page 5)
• Women and healthcare workers experienced long COVID the most. (Pages 6-7)
• The average cost of a hospitalized worker who developed long COVID is $216,000, more than five times the average for nonhospitalized workers with long COVID. (Page 18)

WHERE THE DATA COMES FROM: NCCI’s Indemnity Data Call is new, while the Medical Data Call is just a little over a decade old. These data sources are providing NCCI with greater means to research impactful forces affecting the WC system.

WHY IT MATTERS: This is the first research to outline data and trends in long COVID for those covered by workers compensation.

REPORT BACKGROUND: The study covers COVID-19 WC claims with accident dates between the first quarter of 2020 and June 2021 and medical services provided through March 2022. It includes 7,651 COVID-19 claims with payments of more than $120 million.

This study builds on previous work by NCCI released in October 2021, COVID-19 and The New Reality – Prolonged COVID.

WHO: NCCI Experts, Robert J. Moss and Nedžad Arnautović and Dr. Michael Choo at Paradigm

FOR MORE INFORMATION: If you would like to learn more about the Long COVID in Workers Compensation, or schedule an interview with one of our experts, please contact: Cristine Pike, Director, Public Relations and Communications at NCCI.

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