Long COVID-19 Claim Characteristics and Treatment in California Workers' Compensation. (Research Note, Published June 2025).

A study, based on a review of 126,397 insured and self-insured COVID and Long COVID claims from AY 2020 through AY 2022, shows that while most COVID claims were relatively inexpensive due to little to no medical intervention (only 14.6 percent received medical treatment), 4.7 percent, or nearly 6,000 of them, were Long COVID claims that involved long-term medical conditions that either impeded or prevented the claimants from returning to work and resulted in significant cost. Total payments for medical treatment on the COVID-19 claims amounted to $128.4 million, with Long COVID claims accounting for $105.5 million, or 82.1 percent, of that total.  The report notes the top diagnostic categories for Long COVID claims, compares claim distributions by affected body parts, outpatient medical payments by service category, as well as the distribution of COVID vs. Long COVID claims by claimant age and gender, region and industry.  Research Note, $17.