There's been another study showing that many millions of Americans have "long Covid" symptoms. Among all adults 1.8% report that their daily activities are limited "a lot" by "long Covid." That's millions of people. Yet, the Social Security Administration has received only a trickle of disability claims based on "long Covid." I can't explain this paradox.
14 comments:
Perhaps because it is exaggerated for purposes that are unclear if not dubious...
@9:38: since you apparently have some ideas, do please tell us what these dubious reasons are that are motivating doctors to spend so much valuable time engaging in an expansive conspiratorial misinformation campaign? Sorry, dude. The virus isn’t fake, and your clown president lost his re-election campaign, which, by the way, was NOT stolen.
@9:28 You post here a lot. I can tell by the attitude in which you type. Quit being so negative. It will eat your insides up. Of course theres people that exaggerate anything. "it is exaggerated" is a mighty big assumption!!! "it may be exaggerated", would be the proper way to write that, unless you know for sure it truly IS exaggerated, and have evidence to show that.
On another note, that is related to the post, some younger people aren't familiar with SSA, and can be under the impression it is only for retirement. Until someone says to them "you shouldn't be working", they may not even know they have the option of SSDI. SSA is very complicated, and the younger generations just have no reason to research it further. We're not taught how SSA works in high school. There no Social Security 101. That's my 2 cents on the paradox.
Perhaps many of the people who are struggling with long covid are above full retirement age? Other possibilities:
* It is limiting them a lot but their employers are accommodating them (with low unemployment, letting someone go might be a worse option than keeping someone with reduced productivity)
* the daily activities that are limited are not work-related (like they have a sedentary job and can do that, but can no longer exercise or mow the lawn and they are taking naps after work and preparing simpler meals)
* They are not insured for DI (out of the workforce for 5+ years) and have household income or resources that disqualify them for SSI
* They don't know about Social Security's disability programs or don't think they'll qualify so haven't applied
* Their symptoms haven't lasted a full year
* They are applying on their own and don't want or don't understand how to get a representative
* SSA is not consistently applying the covid case flag
* Covid is increasing the prevalence of certain impairments (stroke, kidney failure, diabetes, etc.) but people are applying based on those impairments and not describing them as long covid
Probably some of all of these!
Maybe long covid folks are too old or otherwise not eligible for SSI and DI.
With unemployment low, they may be able to hang on to their jobs even if not as productive--or the limitations are not work-related (could be with household chores, exercising, etc.)
People might not know about disability benefits, not have reached the 12-month mark for symptoms, or be applying without representation.
SSA staff might not be applying the covid case flag on all cases where it's listed as an impairment. Also people might be applying based on things where covid raises your risk (diabetes, heart attack, stroke, pulmonary issues, kidney failure) rather than listing covid itself as an impairment.
It's probably some of each of these.
@223+ If they are young and working with long covid, odds are they aren't disabled enough to get Social Security disability. It wouldn't pay to stop working, file and be without income for at least 5 months (the waiting period) and possibly more to only have a chance of getting less income.
Generally from what I've seen, claimants are more than inclined to not bring up every condition because they think that's not the "real" issue...which is silly. Also silly when field office workers and ALJs even try to encourage claimants to pin their disability down to the "main" issue.
@11:32
Those points are valid as to why there has not been a significant increase in the number of claims being filed, but not why the filed claims aren't reporting long covid as an impairment proportional to the general population who are reporting they have long covid. With the exception of the flag point, that's certainly possible.
Lots of good suggested reasons above. In addition, just because something limits your daily activities, doesn’t mean you’re disabled and can’t work.
I have both mental and physical issues that limit my daily activities. They make it hard to work but not impossible.
I understand that’s my situation and not representative of anyone else, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who doesn’t want to depend on the federal government for support of my daily life.
They can’t even pass a damn budget so rest assured they don’t care about yours or my week being.
Long covid was defined in the study as experiencing the symptoms for three months or more. I don't see any data for how fast the proportion falls off month by month, but it might be rapid. (The percentage who report ever having, as opposed to currently having, long covid is much higher, so for many workers long covid is temporary. Throw in the other factors (many reporting long covid are not working or are not insured for DI, many continue to work), and it could be that many insured workers suffering several months of long covid will in the end not have to apply for disability.
@11:32 gives a good summary, but the main reason is probably:
Long COVID symptoms were already blended with symptoms of other conditions that make it too difficult to pin to having had COVID. Weak lungs, shortness of breath - COVID or emphysema? The latter is more well known and has better tests than the former.
Add in that the majority of those that had the most significant impairments from COVID already had extreme impairments from other conditions (e.g. diabetes, morbid obesity).
Maybe the choices of not at all, a little bit, and a lot were too few, too ambiguous, or poorly defined.
Maybe the majority of those who are affected “a lot” are already in disability. Or have already applied for disability for other reasons before contracting long Covid so that impairment wasn’t included in any SSA paperwork.
It’s interesting that education and income creates such a wide disparity in outcomes as well. I’m assuming it’s because both groups are generally healthier with fewer comorbidities (COPD, obesity, diabetes, etc.) and better access to healthcare/healthy resources.
A big caveat on this study is that the percentages for individual answers do not include non responses to those questions. So, when the study reports that 1.8 percent of adult experience long Covid symptoms that limit daily activities a lot, that actually means 1.8 percent of people who responded to the question… so if there was a high response rate, this is a fair statement. If only 50 of people who took the survey responded to this question, then that 1.8 percent could be as low as 0.9 percent. That study is also caveated as based on an ‘experimental’ survey. So this needs to be taken with several grains of salt.
The questions they are asking about long covid are a little different. "brain fog" is reported, a lingering cough or shortness of breath. These things while inconvenient do not rise to listing level, but fall in the chronic condition category, so they are working through it and with the condition. Those with rare heart conditions seen in some long covid cases then fall under the cardiac listing. No real surprises here.
My own experience was a fairly drastic drop in exercise capacity after COVID (went from regularly hiking 2 miles without a problem, to being exhausted after a few blocks). After about a year and a half of working at it I was able to walk as far as before, but I am more tired after doing it. Luckily my job is sedentary. If it had been a job requiring me to be on my feet all day, it would have been a problem.
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