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- calendar_today October 22, 2026
Impending Changes to Virtual Care for Long COVID Patients in B.C.
More than 300,000 people in British Columbia are living with long COVID, many of whom depend on virtual appointments to access specialized healthcare. As of November 1, significant changes to the province's Medical Services Plan (MSP) are set to impact how these patients receive care, drawing concern from patients, healthcare providers, and experts.
New Limits and Reduced Fees for Virtual Group Care
The BC Centre for Long COVID, ME/CFS, & Fibromyalgia (BC-CLMF) clinic provides virtual care to over 8,500 patients across the province, facilitating group appointments with allied health specialists such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and psychologists. Currently, virtual group sessions can include up to 50 patients, but under the new MSP policy, groups will be capped at 30 participants. In addition to the group size limit, the per-patient reimbursement fee for these appointments will decrease from $14.71 to $11.42.
Katy McLean, a Vancouver resident and long COVID patient, is one of those affected. She emphasized how vital these services are: "Learning about mobility aids and adaptive behaviors and devices and stuff like that has been so helpful to me. That multidisciplinary piece has made such a huge difference." For McLean and many others, group appointments are a lifeline, offering support and in-depth knowledge from allied health specialists.
Concerns from Clinics and Health Providers
Dr. Jane McKay, co-founder and physician at BC-CLMF, warned that the new guidelines will force cutbacks in essential virtual group programs. "The changes that were made to the fee code are such that we are no longer able to pay the providers we've curated that help us with this work," she explained, indicating that the clinic would no longer be able to offer allied health in virtual group settings. She added, "Try to tell 8,500 patients that the care that they had received that was making a difference is not going to be there. It's pretty hard."
The clinic has informed patients to expect longer wait times as programs are reduced. "We, as the physicians, will continue with the fee code limits that have been set out. We'll do the best that we can, but we know from the literature what we will be doing is not what is needed," said Dr. McKay.
National Guidelines Recommend Expanded Virtual Group Care
New national guidelines for delivering virtual long-COVID care, published recently by Simon Fraser University, support group-based virtual care as an effective way to reach large patient populations. Kayli Jamieson, the lead researcher and a long COVID patient, voiced her concerns: "This recent news is really disheartening because it's going against all the recommendations that we've learned from patients. The reality is there is a lack of specialized services available and there's a huge wait list. In order to deal with the huge patient population and a lack of clinical services available, the group care has been an efficient and effective way of serving as many people as possible."
Challenges for Patients with Chronic Illnesses
Long COVID patients frequently contend with multiple chronic conditions. For instance, McLean has 13 diagnoses, including myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), fibromyalgia, and mast cell activation syndrome. She emphasizes the difficulty of finding knowledgeable providers and the importance of the multidisciplinary approach offered by virtual group sessions.
Dr. McKay noted that many long COVID patients struggle to access care in their own communities due to their health limitations. She pointed out that, amidst healthcare strains including shortages of family doctors and nurse practitioners and overflowing emergency rooms, service providers need flexibility in delivering care.
Next Steps and Calls for Reconsideration
The Medical Services Commission, an independent government-appointed body, approved these changes on September 24, 2026, two days after the provincial election was called. In a statement to CBC, B.C. NDP campaign spokesperson Bhinder Sajan said that, if re-elected, the party would review the impact of the decision to ensure no one is denied access to care.
McLean and other patients remain hopeful the measures will be reconsidered. "I hope it will be reconsidered. I really hope so," she said.
About the Author
Ruby Cornish is a journalist with CBC News, based in Vancouver, who has reported in Canada and Australia.
Source: cbc.ca.
