The study listed the following access and affordability challenges faced by the PCC group:

Having a usual place of care
Forgoing care in the past 12 months because of costs, difficulty finding clinicians, or difficulty using health insurance
Having problems paying family medical bills in the past 12 months
Having past-due medical debt

Here's what the study found relevant to the PCC individuals:

Those with PCC were more likely to be female, Hispanic, and to have multiple chronic health conditions.
They were less likely to have been consistently covered by health insurance than the other groups.
They were more likely to report having unmet health needs than the other groups.
They had more trouble finding a clinician taking new patients and scheduling an appointment with a doctor.
They had a slightly more difficult time finding transportation to a physician appointment than other groups.
They had a much higher rate of individuals reporting difficulties paying for medical care.
They had a much higher rate of difficulty utilizing their health plan than other groups.

Part of the affordability challenge, the researched opined, stemmed from the added cost to PCC patients of paying for their post-COVID care. Already stressed financially, many of those then struggled with the ongoing costs incurred by their PCC.

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Those with post-COVID condition face greater health and financial risks, study finds

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