Americans suffering from long COVID are having to pay for medical costs instead of saving for retirement. 

Opening Bell

How Long COVID is Eating into Americans' Retirement Plans

Welcome back to cheddar is opening bell. Long Covid is throwing a wrench into the retirement plans of many americans. In addition to the health issues, long haulers are now faced to deal with. There are also new financial challenges, especially for the older sufferers joining us. Now with more on this is paul Siegert, managing partner at PCS advisers, paul. Thanks for being with us. I gotta ask you what is the financial toll that long Covid patients are facing right now And how is this affecting americans retirement plans? Well, we already have a situation where the majority of bankruptcies in this country are caused by medical bills. Even for those who have health insurance. And with Covid we had a mass disabling event where long Covid could affect as many as 20 million americans. Uh And they are seeing their their unemployment benefits come to a close At a time when they're really not able to get back to work. It may even account for as many as 15% of unfilled positions currently wow now, is that due to some, maybe insurance companies canceling the insurance or downgrading some of the insurance for these people that are infected. Yeah, we are seeing insurers denying rehabilitation for some of these folks considering it uncovered item which is troubling and what are some of these um I guess elements that they're experiencing for this long Covid that we talk about. Is it just coughing is upper respiratory a what are we talking about here? Yeah, generally it's it's breathing problems. Shortness of breath uh and brain fog is also a very common symptom that these people experience, which makes it difficult for them to work. Maybe even difficult to function in a really normal way without supplemental oxygen and other therapies. Uh So then, and then in even more extreme cases, there could be organ failure or organ damage. That's also included in this, wow, that's scary. And it's because of those elements that long, Covid could be keeping more than a million workers from the labor force at any given time. They could just lose their jobs. So how does that impact the broader economy in the long term? Well, those jobs may go unfilled and we also may need to see some action at a government level to provide extended unemployment for some of these folks. Uh so that they are not uh you know, left without means, especially as they head into retirement and we're already in the system before Covid occurred. A couple that was say age 50 planning to retire at 65 needed to have a half a million dollars put away for medical expenses in retirement. And when you see that they're having to start chip away at that early. Like many of these folks are because of things being considered uncovered or just the fact that their health plan includes a lot of out of pocket risk max out of pockets that can be 7 $8000 for an individual. It's a very tough position for them to be put in. Yeah. And that's a lot of money. Especially considering that some statistics say most who retire at 65 As a couple only have the range of mid 300,000 safe for this. And now they're having to go above and beyond to spend that. And also we've got to think of the other people. How does this affect other workers who may not be suffering long covid at all but are now have to pick up the slack from those people that are out of the workforce. Exactly. We we will see that impact the broader workforce, greater burnout. And we're at a time now where employers are struggling to get talent on board and keep the good people that they have. Many employers tell us it's the toughest hiring environment they've seen in 15 years and this is one more kind of log on that fire. That's making this a very difficult time for employers. And you mentioned medical bills are one of the leading causes of bankruptcy. So what resources are currently available for long term patients dealing with all these mounting medical bills because they don't stop calling. They'll keep calling your creditors after you as well. That's a fact. So you have to start applying early for aid ah And it may be that you need to apply for SSDI I or for some long term disability if you are a long hauler with Covid and unfortunately it's not a very efficient process. It may take Applying two and three times. So there's a lot of time that can be involved in that. And of course we're talking about a population that may be dealing with brain fog and some other challenges getting through the application process. So they need to be, we need to provide some assistance to this group. Help expedite some of these applications so that we aren't putting people into medical bankruptcy as a result of Covid. And you mentioned that assistance. Are there any policy changes that maybe could be put in place to help lessen the financial burden of these long Covid patients? Yeah, there is some discussion at the national level for creating a category for extended unemployment that targets this group. But I think that would be a very positive step. Well, I know a lot of people are in need of that right now. Is there any estimate on how many, especially seniors are affected by this long Covid? We may see as many as 20 million americans it's considered it's it's kind of early to tell. But what the data is showing us so far is that one out of three or one out of four people who contracted Covid could end up being a long hauler with Covid and it does as you pointed out tend to affect those that are north of 50 years old. And so we could see As many as 20 million mostly in that age group affected by this and real quick are people able to plan ahead for this saying that they may have effects now to maybe adding to their insurance or trying to adjust their plans now? Well, as we go into open enrollment season, which it seems like we just finished, but it comes quicker than you than you think we'll be back in it here in a few months time where you can reconsider your plan elections and it may make sense depending on your situation to look at a plan that has less out of pocket risk. I'm all for that. Alright. Thanks Paul Sigurd, managing partner of PCS advisors, appreciate your time.