site.btaGovernment Pulls out Changes in Disability Assessment Rules after Disabled People Threaten Protests
NW 18:04:02 10-04-2018
LN1802NW.122
122 - ECONOMY - HEALTH CARE - DISABILITY ASSESSMENT - REFORMS
Government Pulls out Changes in Disability
Assessment Rules after
Disabled People Threaten Protests
Sofia, April 10 (BTA) - The government pulled out proposed changes to the rules for disability assessment Tuesday. The decision was announced by Health Minister Kiril Ananiev following a meeting with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov and Social Minister Bisser Petkov. The decision came in the wake of threats for large-scale protests by disabled people against the intended reform of the disability assessment system.
At a news conference in Sofia early on Tuesday, several organizations of people with disabilities, including the Union of the Blind, the Association of Parents of Epileptic Children, the Union of Disabled in Bulgaria, as well as the National Council for Integration of Disabled People operating with the government, said that some 6,000 people are expected to join a national protest against the contemplated changes in disability assessment.
They asked for a clear answer about the consequences from the planned changes and expressed fears that the only result from the introduction of a mandatory functionality assessment of disabled people will be loss of their disability pensions - as it will surely not result in the creation of new jobs for disabled people.
They believe that the functionality assessment requirement aims to secure some 500-600 million leva in cost cuts for the public purse.
In the new system, only one lead health condition will be included in the disability assessment.
The organizations of disabled people asked how doctors will decide which is the lead condition if a blind person also has cancer and argued that clearly the aim is to mechanically lower the degree of disability - and thus cut back the costs that go with it.
Disabled people also challenge the allegations of the power-holders that some 1 million people draw a disability pension and say official statistics sets this number at 517,000.
According to a survey by the Podkrepa Labour Confederation - which supports the protest of disabled people - taken among 303 members of nationally representative organizations of disabled people, 41 per cent of the disabled rely solely on their disability benefit. One in four disabled lives on 200 leva, or just over 100 euro, per month and 83.5 per cent of all disabled are below the poverty line of 321 leva a month.
The organizations of disabled people also say that there are attempts to sell the idea that the number of disabled in Bulgaria is unrealistically high. Eurostat figures, however, show something else: the share of disabled is between 15 and 18 per cent across the EU and 7-8 per cent in Bulgaria.
"The contemplated reform aims to take away a disability-compensating income of 241 leva and send [disabled] people to the labour market to seek for jobs which don't exist," said Adriana Stoimenova of Podkrepa.
A Podkrepa poll also showed that nearly 60 per cent of disabled job-seekers are faced with direct or indirect discrimination when they apply for a job.
According to Labour Minister Bisser Petkov, the proposed introduction of a functionality assessment aims to improve the employability of disabled people and the efficiency of funding and services provided by the government so as to heighten the living standards of disabled people. It certainly does not aim to cut the money for disabled people or take away rights that have been granted to them such as the right to a disability pension. "In other words, it means that a person who can work and who qualifies for a disability pension, is not going to lose this pension," he said as he commented the concerns of disabled people's organizations.
The minister denied allegations that it was said at a February 22 meeting of the parliamentary health and social committees that the contemplated reform would result in the suspension of disability pensions for 100,000 to 150,000 Bulgarians. He said this can be seen in the official transcript from the said meeting.
The Minister explained that the proposed reform is based on the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, commonly known as ICF, which allows an individual assessment of the functionality of people with lasting disabilities with a view to their inclusion in the labour market based also on their skills and experience.
"The proposed model may be imperfect and will likely fail to solve all problems but if we are to carry through a reform that is good for disabled people, we need them to be an active participant rather than a critical observer of the process," said Minister Petkov. VI/LN/
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LN1802NW.122
122 - ECONOMY - HEALTH CARE - DISABILITY ASSESSMENT - REFORMS
Government Pulls out Changes in Disability
Assessment Rules after
Disabled People Threaten Protests
Sofia, April 10 (BTA) - The government pulled out proposed changes to the rules for disability assessment Tuesday. The decision was announced by Health Minister Kiril Ananiev following a meeting with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov and Social Minister Bisser Petkov. The decision came in the wake of threats for large-scale protests by disabled people against the intended reform of the disability assessment system.
At a news conference in Sofia early on Tuesday, several organizations of people with disabilities, including the Union of the Blind, the Association of Parents of Epileptic Children, the Union of Disabled in Bulgaria, as well as the National Council for Integration of Disabled People operating with the government, said that some 6,000 people are expected to join a national protest against the contemplated changes in disability assessment.
They asked for a clear answer about the consequences from the planned changes and expressed fears that the only result from the introduction of a mandatory functionality assessment of disabled people will be loss of their disability pensions - as it will surely not result in the creation of new jobs for disabled people.
They believe that the functionality assessment requirement aims to secure some 500-600 million leva in cost cuts for the public purse.
In the new system, only one lead health condition will be included in the disability assessment.
The organizations of disabled people asked how doctors will decide which is the lead condition if a blind person also has cancer and argued that clearly the aim is to mechanically lower the degree of disability - and thus cut back the costs that go with it.
Disabled people also challenge the allegations of the power-holders that some 1 million people draw a disability pension and say official statistics sets this number at 517,000.
According to a survey by the Podkrepa Labour Confederation - which supports the protest of disabled people - taken among 303 members of nationally representative organizations of disabled people, 41 per cent of the disabled rely solely on their disability benefit. One in four disabled lives on 200 leva, or just over 100 euro, per month and 83.5 per cent of all disabled are below the poverty line of 321 leva a month.
The organizations of disabled people also say that there are attempts to sell the idea that the number of disabled in Bulgaria is unrealistically high. Eurostat figures, however, show something else: the share of disabled is between 15 and 18 per cent across the EU and 7-8 per cent in Bulgaria.
"The contemplated reform aims to take away a disability-compensating income of 241 leva and send [disabled] people to the labour market to seek for jobs which don't exist," said Adriana Stoimenova of Podkrepa.
A Podkrepa poll also showed that nearly 60 per cent of disabled job-seekers are faced with direct or indirect discrimination when they apply for a job.
According to Labour Minister Bisser Petkov, the proposed introduction of a functionality assessment aims to improve the employability of disabled people and the efficiency of funding and services provided by the government so as to heighten the living standards of disabled people. It certainly does not aim to cut the money for disabled people or take away rights that have been granted to them such as the right to a disability pension. "In other words, it means that a person who can work and who qualifies for a disability pension, is not going to lose this pension," he said as he commented the concerns of disabled people's organizations.
The minister denied allegations that it was said at a February 22 meeting of the parliamentary health and social committees that the contemplated reform would result in the suspension of disability pensions for 100,000 to 150,000 Bulgarians. He said this can be seen in the official transcript from the said meeting.
The Minister explained that the proposed reform is based on the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, commonly known as ICF, which allows an individual assessment of the functionality of people with lasting disabilities with a view to their inclusion in the labour market based also on their skills and experience.
"The proposed model may be imperfect and will likely fail to solve all problems but if we are to carry through a reform that is good for disabled people, we need them to be an active participant rather than a critical observer of the process," said Minister Petkov. VI/LN/
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