Long Covid: what healthcare costs are covered for patients?

Mélissa, 36, was infected with Sars-CoV-2 in March 2020, a week before confinement. A Covid-19 which first made her think of “a big flu”… Except that she never really recovered. Sudden drops in blood pressure, tachycardia, malaise, dizziness, loss of memory, pain and a feeling of total exhaustion make it impossible to return to work.

“I tried to start once more in therapeutic half-time, but the Medicare medical adviser put an end to it, because it was still too much in view of my condition”, says the young woman, who is since then in a very delicate situation. Because to his symptoms is now added an uncertain financial future: “I might not obtain long sick leave, because I do not fit into the boxes of disabling pathologies. I am therefore once more on ordinary work stoppage, but I don’t know how long this will last,” she sighs.

Max, in his forties, has also been in great difficulty since his infection during the second epidemic wave in the fall of 2020. Still out of breath, with significant muscle wasting, lumbago and cognitive impairment, he feels “like a grandfather” and had to give up his project of professional reorientation towards children’s entertainment. Freelance graphic designer, he struggles to work and, to meet his needs, must rely on his companion. For him too, the financial worries, still weighed down by his health expenses, add to the pain and fatigue. “It must be said and repeated, the long Covid causes many difficulties for the sick”, he insists.

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Consequent loss of income

This is one of the demands of patient associations: that this new pathology, which can prove to be very disabling, be covered by the status of “long-term condition” (ALD), which entitles you to medical treatment. 100% health care expenses by Medicare for related costs. Like cancer, cardiovascular disease or diabetes, for example.

“It is a decision that falls to the government, on the basis of the recommendations of the High Authority for Health, recalls Marguerite Cazeneuve, deputy director for the management and organization of care at the National Health Insurance Fund (Cnam ). But for the moment, it does not seem to us that the conditions are met.” This device meets the needs of patients suffering from chronic diseases (more than six months) and requiring very expensive medical care. However, “persistent symptoms, such as fatigue or loss of smell, do not necessarily induce any particular additional cost”, notes the head of Medicare.

For patients who experience the most difficulties, a derogatory device still allows them to benefit from 100% coverage: “There is an ALD called off-list, which does not correspond to a particular pathology. Doctors can make the request for their patients, if they deem it necessary”, specifies Marguerite Cazeneuve. At the beginning of February, 2,426 people would benefit from it, according to Cnam data.

There remains the question of prolonged sick leave. For Social Security, there too, the existing systems respond to the situations encountered by patients, with in particular daily allowances, long daily allowances, disability or even occupational disease, for caregivers in particular. However, the loss of income can be substantial.