Long procedures, psychological cornering and reports that don't even begin to capture the medical picture – that's how long-term Covid sufferers, doctors and patient advocates describe their experiences with disability insurance.
“In long-term covid or severe course of the disease, ME/CFS, sufferers are already lost in IV evaluation centers,” says neurologist Maja Strasser.
At his specialty practice in Solothurn, Long is caring for 160 patients with Covid. It is one of the few practices in Switzerland that specializes in the Long Covit. Due to overload, it is no longer accepting new patients.
“IV reports do not reflect complex clinical picture”
He treats many seriously ill patients, says neurologist Maja Strasser. But no patient group is more complex than long-term Covid-19 patients ME/CFS is called myalgic encephalomyelitisA serious neurological disease that can lead to severe physical disability.
The clinical picture is incredibly complex and requires patient support. Many are 100 percent unable to work. IV, on the other hand, has difficulty classifying the clinical picture. Strasser says the reports he's seen from his patients so far are inadequate and don't capture the essentials.
Exercise intolerance: a central symptom of the acute course of the disease
Neurologist Strasser says that pathological fatigue and stress tolerance are central features of the acute course of the disease.
If sufferers exceed the limit of stress tolerance, a so-called crash occurs after a few days, sometimes with a major worsening of symptoms, which may be irreversible.
Expert demands: IV to overhaul review processes for prolonged covid
“I have never seen a report that comes close to assessing the central aspect of the severity of the disease – stress tolerance,” expert Maja Strasser tells “Kassenrutsch”. Reports that don't reflect this symptom, which is so limiting for patients, “are worth nothing,” he says.
Reports for long-term covid and ME/CFS sufferers must meet quality criteria based on scientific consensus. This requires adapted questionnaires and clarification tools. Not depression questionnaires, IVs often use and push sufferers into a psychological corner.
Patient representative: “IV writes that long-term Covid patients are healthy”
Over 5,000 people with prolonged Covid-19 have registered for IV so far. According to them, only four percent of them are Monitoring IV for prolonged covid Get pension. The Authority does not distinguish between full and half pension. Because A political effort All those with IV long covid should be registered.
According to Manuela Peiri, a member of the executive board of Long Covid Switzerland, the low number of positive pension results so far is a sign that “most people are declared healthy”. Several members of the self-help group are currently reviewing the application.
Criticism of excessive length of procedure
Another charge: It takes too long from registration to decision. You wait years for a specialist appointment, says Manuela Peiri. For example, 40-year-old Miriam Hurster has been in limbo for more than two years.
According to a doctor's report, a former executive of a major insurance company is severely disabled. For her, Long Covid took a severe course of ME/CFS. His daily allowance insurance lapsed and his job was terminated. She had thus far waited in vain for an appointment with a specialist, let alone the end of an IV.
Multidisciplinary assessment systems are overloaded
When asked, IV wrote that she has “a big backlog on the distribution platform” in the fall of 2023. When your document is assigned to an expert body “depends on the competence of the expert body”.
Will I be able to live independently one day?
The IV decision is central to other procedures, says victim Miriam Hurster. “For example: Can I live independently one day?” Whether other systems pay also depends on the outcome of the IV.
Meaningless obligations to collaborate instead of making decisions
Patient advocate Sebastian Lorentz says the idea of a social security system is completely different: a simple process that doesn't make too many demands and helps victims. By these IV procedures, “the noble objective of the Legislature was not adhered to”.
For the victims, the process is unbearable, sometimes due to unnecessary obligations to cooperate. For example, treatments that do not do justice to the clinical picture. Definitive decisions about Lang Kovid are rare at his law firm. He says: “The fourth longest covid has complications in the medical picture.”
Instead of making decisions, IV recommends social support for victims
The example of 37-year-old Nicole Spychiger shows what this means for victims: her job loss and illness have eaten away at the family of four's assets. IV wrote that he was unlikely to be reintegrated. From December 2023 he has no employment or daily allowance insurance.
The family can only stay afloat with a fundraising campaign from friends. IV recommended contacting social welfare. “I always thought we were well-insured. And then you're out for a long time, with a new and undiagnosed disease, and you're falling all over the place.”
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