Protest Over Berlin's Disastrous Long COVID Care: KV Berlin Must Answer to Parliament

Berlin, 25 March 2025 – The collective Berlin Buyers Club is calling for a demonstration on 31 March 2025 at 8:45 am outside the Berlin House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus). The occasion is a hearing of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, KV Berlin, at the 52nd session of the Committee on Health and Care. KV Berlin describes the care on offer as adequate. Patients’ everyday reality says otherwise.

Under the title “The role and responsibilities of the KV in improving care for people with Long COVID in Berlin”, members of parliament will question KV Berlin. Statements from people affected will also be read out. The hearing was requested by the CDU and SPD parliamentary groups. The session is open to the public and will be streamed live:

Livestream: parlament-berlin.de/mediathek/parlament-live/livestream-ausschuss

Why we’re protesting

KV Berlin claims that medical care for people with Long COVID is adequate. In practice, that care doesn’t exist:

• Many people affected say they get no medical care at all.
• The few specialist outpatient clinics in Germany are overwhelmed and can’t keep up with demand, including from young people and children.
• Illnesses like HIV or multiple sclerosis have specialist practices. For Long COVID, there is nothing of the kind.

The protest outside the Abgeordnetenhaus

To draw attention to how dire things are, Berlin Buyers Club is planning a powerful protest with placards and a sound installation.

• Speakers will play excerpts from the accounts of people affected, in their own words, describing what a lack of care means for their lives.
• These accounts were first read out at Berlin Buyers Club’s last demonstration, on International Long COVID Awareness Day, 15 March 2025: read the press release from that protest

What we’re asking of KV Berlin and the politicians

We call on KV Berlin and Berlin’s health senator Ina Czyborra for:

1. Specialist medical care for people with Long COVID and ME/CFS, on a par with the care for other chronic illnesses.
2. An end to passing the buck. These illnesses are a challenge for all of society, not a niche issue.
3. Honest communication and concrete action instead of empty promises.

All members of the press are warmly invited to join the demonstration and report on it. We’re happy to arrange interviews with people affected.

Although this hearing focuses on Long COVID, Berlin Buyers Club stands just as firmly with people with ME/CFS. ME/CFS is a severe post-infectious illness that is just as often ignored, and many people with Long COVID have developed it. Our fight for basic medical care includes people with ME/CFS, who face the same gaps in care.