The People's Party has presented a parliamentary initiative in the Cortes of Aragon in which it urges the Government of Spain to withdraw the draft reform of the benefit intended for the care of minors with cancer or other serious pathologies. In the opinion of this party, the text introduces new bureaucratic obstacles, complicates access to financial aid, and leaves many families without coverage when sick children reach certain ages.
The spokesperson for Deregulation and Social Welfare of the PP in the Aragonese Parliament, Susana Gaspar, registered this Monday, July 6, the proposal, with which she also calls for the opening of a dialogue process with patient associations and affected families, in order to agree on a reform adjusted to their real needs.
"Illness does not understand calendars, does not understand dates, does not understand ages," Gaspar stated during the press conference, emphasizing that the priority should be "to take care of those who care" instead of imposing new burdens on them.
The popular deputy stressed that the draft prepared by the central Executive does not incorporate the demands that associations have been making for a long time and recalled that these organizations have already publicly expressed their rejection of the document.
As she explained, in addition to making the processing more difficult, the proposal maintains the limits of access to the benefit when the sick person turns 23, or 26 if they have a recognized disability rating equal to or greater than 65% before the age of 23.
Maintain aid as long as care persists
Gaspar argued that the benefit should be extended as long as there is a need for continuous care, regardless of the age of the affected person.
"The illness continues when these people turn 26, but with the current legislation and with the draft presented by the Government of Pedro Sánchez, families are left unprotected," she pointed out.
For this reason, the Popular Group's initiative proposes that the future reform eliminate age-related restrictions and allow families to continue receiving aid and maintaining reduced working hours as long as the situation of dependency and the need for permanent attention persists.
Likewise, the Popular Party demands that any regulatory change be built on consensus with associations and those affected, so that the new regulation responds to the real conditions of those who live day by day with these diseases.
Co-responsibility and support for the self-employed
Another point of the initiative focuses on co-responsibility in care. The PP proposes that both parents can simultaneously benefit from the reduction in working hours and the benefit, provided that the sum of both reductions does not exceed 100% of the working day.
Gaspar has argued that this measure would favor a more balanced distribution of family responsibilities and improve the work-life balance of those who must continuously care for a child with cancer or another serious illness.
The proposal also calls for simplifying the necessary procedures to apply for and maintain the benefit, preventing any economic reduction, and ensuring that its application is uniform throughout the country, regardless of the autonomous community of residence.
Gaspar has also requested that the new regulation eliminate the administrative burdens that, in his opinion, hinder both access to and continuity of the aid. In this regard, he has insisted on the need to streamline procedures to prevent families from having to assume additional management in a context already marked by constant care for people in these circumstances.
To this end, the initiative registered by the Popular Group urges the Government of Spain to guarantee a homogeneous application of the benefit throughout the national territory, avoiding inequalities between autonomous communities. "We all have the right to access this aid regardless of where we live," the Popular Party spokesperson recalled.
Reinforcement of protection for caregiver families
Among the requests included in the text is also a specific reinforcement of protection for self-employed workers who care for minors with cancer or other serious illnesses, a group that, according to the PP, faces greater difficulties in reconciling their professional activity with care needs.
The popular spokesperson has reiterated that administrations must be a support for these families and not a hindrance. "Families must be at the center of public policies, especially those that have minors or people who need constant care in their charge," she stated.
In this regard, she has demanded that institutions offer "a real and effective response" that facilitates the daily lives of caregivers and guarantees that no family loses benefits merely because the patient reaches a certain age, when the illness and the need for care remain present.
The parliamentarian has emphasized that the initiative aims to correct a regulation that, in the PP's opinion, does not conform to the reality of the affected families. "They should not encounter more obstacles or difficulties; on the contrary, they should find a helping hand in the administrations that facilitates their daily lives and provides a real and effective response to their needs," concluded Gaspar, who has insisted that the purpose of the proposal is to strengthen the protection of those who assume the care of people with cancer or other serious pathologies.