As our nation continues to combat the spread of COVID-19, more and more patients have been helped, but find they have not fully healed. These patients have “recovered” but have not been restored to full health. For them, being at home is just the start of a new and protracted period of uncertainty as they wrestle with ongoing symptoms and clinical needs that seem to be chronic. This is informally known as “long-COVID.”

Our Alliance is a multi-sector group of leaders across the health care sector marshaling our resources in a coordinated effort to collect evidence, analyze data, and consider an array of resources and support services targeted at patients experiencing long-COVID. We are developing national solutions that link diverse data sources, inform the development of models of care, and help ensure adequate payment for the care of key patient cohorts.

We are focused on the following overlapping populations of people with long-COVID:

1. Essential workers who served their communities and nation. These individuals have sacrificed to care for the sick, combat the virus, and keep the economy and national infrastructure afloat through critical industries and professions, such as health care, education, retail, agriculture, and transportation.
2. High-cost clinical and support needs. These individuals require intensive medical care and non-medical supports and services that could significantly strain existing payment systems.
3. Underserved communities. The pandemic is disproportionately affecting racial and ethnic minorities and other underserved communities, many of whom overlap with the other two population categories.