Long-distance COVID patients fight for the benefit of people with disabilities, lawyers say

Those patients are struggling with how to deal with the protracted health problems associated with COVID-19 by the medical community. — — Known as a long-distance carrier — — I am suffering from more than health.

Barry-based lawyer Steve Rustin said that between those who are unable to work for long-haul carriers and are trying to take advantage of them, and those whose insurance companies are refusing to pay. It states that there is a conflict.

According to a British study a year ago, 10% of people infected with COVID-19 are thought to have unresolved symptoms in the months that follow, which is described as a multisystem disease. ..

But I think Rastin could be at the bottom of the scale — — American studies suggest that it can be up to 30 percent.

But even 10%, this represents 140,000 Canadians out of 1.4 million people infected with COVID-19, who may be long-haul carriers.

The fight against insurance companies over benefits has already filed proceedings.

“We don’t have a practical definition of long-haul COVID,” said Rastin, who outlines how long a patient has symptoms before being considered a long-haul carrier. “There is no unified set of symptoms for everyone.”

Long-term symptoms often include fatigue and fog in the brain. However, some people complain of muscle aches, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal problems, and other medical problems.

The local pulmonologist said earlier BarrieToday Symptomatology varies and the medical community is confused about how to deal with the root cause of all problems.

Some people who have been on long leave for a long time are hitting a brick wall when applying for a long-term disability allowance. Rastin says insurers want proof that the applicant is actually ill and unable to work.

“The problem with long-haul carriers is that there are no established diagnostic criteria for this and no tests for it … many insurers require objective evidence,” he said.

Susie Goulding, who launched the COVID Long-Haulers Support Group Canada, which currently has about 14,000 members, says the lack of definition of what makes long-haul carriers is a problem. Insurers have relied on their “loopholes” to prevent payments for people with disabilities, she says.

“They are denying the left, right and center claims,” ​​Golding said. “These insurers have no code to write down because there is no definition.

“People who aren’t supported throughout this pandemic are actually people who are directly affected by the virus, have the virus, and can’t work. They’re going through the cracks,” she added.

Golding, who was infected with the virus during the first wave, was critical of Canada’s national health system, admitting that the symptoms of COVID-19 lasted for the past few weeks, far behind other countries. She says she wasn’t.

In a statement on July 7, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer showed that long-term or recurrent symptoms (called long COVID) were recognized by the World Health Organization as “post-COVID-19 conditions.” I did.

The first findings, led by the Public Health Agency of Canada, are: — — 83 percent — — The proportion of COVID-19 patients identified in the laboratory continued to experience one or more symptoms within 4-12 weeks, with 56% over 12 weeks.

“Because of the low certainty of the evidence, further research is needed to determine the true burden of the condition after COVID-19,” said a statement from the State Chief Public Health Officer.

As a result of delayed awareness, efforts to come up with definitions of what constitutes a long-haul carrier have been delayed, leaving the entire community unprepared, incapacitated, unwilling to work and unprofitable. , Goulding said.

Some of the other obstacles Rastin and Goulding have pointed out are the inability to see a family doctor with the objective evidence documents that insurers are looking for, and early COVIDs like Goulding- Not positive for some of the 10 patients. test results.

“We had these problems before,” said Rustin, pointing out the difficult-to-diagnose fibromyalgia and even the chronic pain caused by Lyme disease. “This is a post-infection chronic disease syndrome.

“Insurers have generally set people’s feet on fire:” Well, you have to prove that you have this problem. “

Rastin believes that a major legal battlefield is evolving as these patients struggle to prove that they are too physically handicapped to work. He says it is fundamentally unfair for long-haul carriers to be currently denied allowances after paying long-term disability allowances.

He adds that all this is right after the insurance blank due to the pandemic blockade, where there are far fewer people on the road and far fewer claims. Personal injury lawyers noticed that the phone stopped ringing for long periods of time with few collisions, falls, and bar fights.

The closure or reduction of courts meant that existing insurance claims had not been processed or settled and that those who received the benefits did not have access to many treatments.

“Insurers often benefited,” Rustin said, who benefited from the pandemic.

Golding’s group seeks recognition of long COVID, research to identify and define problems, and rehabilitation to treat them.

“Canada needs to be aware that Long COVID is a national crisis and an obstacle,” she said. “It also needs to be taken seriously by the government, and like any other country, we need to have a disability allowance available … and what does it look like to get back to work? ? “