Amanda Morris writes for the New York Times on the difficulty people with long-term side effects of Covid are facing getting disability benefits. People with “long Covid” can have serious health issues and might not be able to work. They need disability benefits, including health care and housing.
The issue is that the Social Security Administration wants proof of long-term disability in order to award benefits. But, the side effects of long Covid are not easy to prove. Often lab tests show that things look normal. People do not have specific medical evidence to support their claims for disability benefits.
President Biden, for his part, has promised “to make sure Americans with long Covid who have a disability have access to the rights and resources that are due under the disability law.” But, how is long Covid diagnosed without medical evidence? Moreover, to qualify for Social Security disability benefits you need to be able to show that you cannot work for at least a year.
An estimated three to ten million Americans could have long Covid, according to the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. These people are still getting care for several different medical conditions long after they were diagnosed with Covid-19.
To date, about 16,000 Americans have been able to prove that they have long Covid to the Social Security Administration. It’s early days, since it takes about five months for Social Security to make a disability determination. To make matters worse, the Trump Administration underfunded the Social Security Administration. President Biden has proposed that Congress allocate $1.3 billion additional dollars to it.
Today, about 9.5 million workers and their families receive Social Security disability benefits. Benefits tend to average $1,280 a month. People receiving Social Security disability benefits also qualify for Medicare.
Of course, if everyone in the US had Medicare, it would be a huge help to people with long Covid. These days, Medicare for all seems more like a dream. Instead, millions of Americans are living a nightmare.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Social Security benefits will increase nearly 6 percent in 2022
- Raising the minimum wage helps workers and Social Security
- Medicare Open Enrollment: Don’t trust insurance agents
- HIPAA and why you need a health care proxy
- New JAMA study reveals exercise can reduce likelihood of disability in older adults
Leave a Reply