Congress gives the green light to the report of the committee on the bill for neonatal screenings

The Bill on the neonatal screening program of the National Health System (122/000233) is currently in the Congress, in the Commission phase, with the report of the Working Group already approved within the Working Group itself. The immediate next step is for the competent Commission to debate that report, vote on the amendments still alive, and approve its Opinion. Then, the text will go to the Plenary of the Congress for the debate and final vote on the whole, and only then will it be sent to the Senate for its second reading. After the Senate's position (with or without changes) and, if applicable, a final intervention by the Congress, the law can be sanctioned, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), and come into force.

1. Current status of the bill

The initiative processed in the Congress is officially called “Bill on the neonatal screening program of the National Health System”, with number 122/000233 and originating in the Congress of Deputies. It passed the consideration stage in Plenary (with a vote of 307 yes, 7 no, and 33 abstentions) and has already exhausted the phase of submitting amendments to the articles, which were published in the Official Bulletin of the General Courts (BOCG-15-B-277-4). Subsequently, its processing by the urgent procedure was agreed upon, which halves the deadlines for the remaining parliamentary procedures. On 06/24/2026, the Working Group Report was published (BOCG-15-B-277-6), and the processing record itself indicates that the initiative already has a Working Group report and must now go through the Commission for the issuance of the Opinion.

2. Next steps in the Congress of Deputies

2.1. Commission: from the Working Group report to the Opinion

The first pending step is the ratification of the Working Group Report and the approval of the “Commission Opinion” by the competent Commission of the Congress (likely the health commission or the one assigned the subject). In that session:

– The text prepared by the Working Group and the amendments still alive are debated.
– The Commission can fully ratify the Working Group text or introduce changes by accepting or rejecting specific amendments.
– The result is reflected in the Commission Opinion, which will be published in the BOCG and will become the base text for the Plenary.

Once the Opinion is approved, the Congress Board and the Presidency will include the “Approval of the Commission Opinion on the Bill…” in the agenda of a plenary session. In the processing record, the initiative will be listed as pending debate and vote in Plenary.

2.2. Plenary of the Congress: debate and final vote on the whole

In the Plenary, the “Debate on the Commission Opinion on the Bill…” takes place. In this procedure:

– The opinion is defended and reserved amendments for the Plenary may be presented (if any group has maintained them).
– These amendments, if any, are debated and voted on first, and then the resulting text.

Then the “final vote on the whole” or “vote on the entire text of the Bill” takes place. If the majority of the Plenary approves it, the bill is approved by the Congress of Deputies. The next formal act in the process is the sending of the text to the Senate, where it will be registered as a bill sent by the Congress.

3. Subsequent processing in the Senate

When the text reaches the Senate, the Board of the Chamber will qualify it and send it to the competent Commission, opening a period for submitting amendments and particular votes. As in the Congress, a Working Group may be formed, a Report approved, and subsequently, a Senate Commission Opinion.

The Senate Plenary will then hold the “Debate on the Commission Opinion on the Bill” and proceed to the “Vote on the amendments and the whole text.” Three scenarios may occur here:

– Approval without amendments: the bill is definitively approved by the General Courts and proceeds to sanction and publication.
– Approval with amendments: the Senate returns a text with modifications to the Congress for it to decide on them.
– Veto: the Senate agrees on a veto to the text, which must be resolved by the Congress in a new vote.

4. Final approval, BOE publication, and entry into force

If the Senate approves the text without changes, or once the Congress resolves, if applicable, the Senate's amendments or veto, the neonatal screening Bill will be considered definitively approved. From there, three final steps occur, outside the ordinary commission and plenary dynamics:

– Sanction and promulgation by the King.
– Publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE) as “Law XX/YYYY, of …, on the neonatal screening program of the National Health System” (with the corresponding numbering and date).
– Entry into force on the date set in the final provision of the law itself (for example, X days after its publication) or, if nothing else is established, within the general period provided by the legal system.

As far as the available documentation goes, the bill has not yet left the Congress nor reached the final vote in Plenary, so all milestones described from the Commission Opinion onward remain pending.

The Ministry of Health does not directly perform neonatal screenings, but it does have a key role in defining which tests are part of the common portfolio of the National Health System (SNS), setting their minimum requirements, coordinating the Autonomous Communities, and evaluating the results. Based on the Constitution, the General Health Law, and especially Law 16/2003 on cohesion and quality, the State regulates the “bases” of health services, including prevention and screening programs. Through Royal Decree 1030/2006 and its successive updating orders, the Ministry decides which neonatal screening tests are common funded services, under what conditions, and with what quality standards. The practical execution and organization of the program (hospitals, laboratories, care circuits) correspond to the Autonomous Communities, but they must respect those state minimums and the agreements of the Interterritorial Council of the SNS.

Basic legal framework of state competencies

The Spanish Constitution recognizes the right to health protection and entrusts public authorities with organizing and overseeing public health through preventive measures and necessary services (Spanish Constitution). This mandate is specified in basic state health legislation.

Law 16/2003, on cohesion and quality of the National Health System, is the central norm defining the State's competencies regarding services and coordination of the SNS. It establishes the catalog of services and the common service portfolio, assigning the State the regulation of that portfolio, its approval by royal decree, and the procedure for its updating, always with the intervention of the Interterritorial Council (Law 16/2003). Additionally, it requires that any new technique, technology, or procedure undergo prior evaluation before incorporation into the portfolio.

This law is developed by regulation in Royal Decree 1030/2006, which establishes the common service portfolio of the SNS and the procedure for its updating (Royal Decree 1030/2006). Although the royal decree does not refer only to neonatal screenings, in practice it is the legal instrument that determines which screenings, under what conditions and scope, are part of the guaranteed services throughout the territory.

Specific functions of the Ministry of Health in neonatal screening

1. Definition of the common portfolio and minimum screening content

The Ministry has the regulatory competence to develop, approve, and update the common service portfolio. This includes deciding, after evaluation, which neonatal screening tests (e.g., certain metabolic or genetic diseases) become common funded services. This decision is reflected in Royal Decree 1030/2006 and its amendments, and obliges all Autonomous Communities to offer, at minimum, those tests under the established conditions.

Successive orders updating annexes of the portfolio allow the Ministry to expand or modulate the scope of screenings. For example, Order SND/454/2025 modifies annexes of Royal Decree 1030/2006, updating common portfolio services (Order SND/454/2025), and Order SND/606/2024 creates an Advisory Committee for the common portfolio in the Genetics area, key to evaluating new tests, some directly relevant to neonatal screening (Order SND/606/2024).

2. Scientific-technical evaluation and supervised use

In application of Law 16/2003 and Royal Decree 1030/2006, the Ministry must promote and coordinate the evaluation of new screening techniques (safety, efficacy, cost-effectiveness, organizational impact) before their incorporation into the portfolio. To this end, it can: create specialized advisory committees (such as the genetics one), order monitoring studies, and establish conditions for supervised use of certain tests while data is collected.

Order SSI/1356/2015 and its development are an example of regulation of these monitoring studies, setting requirements for the controlled introduction of new techniques (Order SSI/1356/2015; associated resolution). This mechanism allows the Ministry to authorize limited incorporation of a neonatal screening test and later decide, based on evidence, if it becomes a stable service in the common portfolio.

3. Setting standards, coordination, and evaluation of results

Through Royal Decree 1030/2006 and its development orders, the Ministry can establish technical requirements, protocols, and quality criteria for performing the tests: authorized centers, diagnostic confirmation circuits, referral to specialized units, etc. Although operational details are often specified at the autonomous level, the basic state norm sets minimums that guarantee a homogeneous level of quality and safety.

Law 16/2003 also assigns the State functions of coordination and cohesion through the Interterritorial Council of the SNS and the SNS Observatory (Law 16/2003). Regarding neonatal screening, this translates into: defining common indicators, promoting data collection and analysis, comparing results among Communities, and preparing quality reports. The High Inspection and evaluation instruments allow supervision that state standards are met and that there are no unjustified inequalities in access.

4. Financial cohesion instruments

Although the ordinary financing of neonatal screening programs is fundamentally autonomous, the State has health cohesion mechanisms. The Ministry participates in the regulation and updating of the Health Cohesion Fund (for example, through Order SND/976/2024, which updates annexes of Royal Decree 1207/2006 related to this fund: Order SND/976/2024). These instruments can be used to support services requiring high specialization or to compensate territorial imbalances, also in neonatal screening when it involves referrals or reference resources.

Articulation with the Autonomous Communities and limits

According to Law 16/2003 and the General Health Law (Law 14/1986, cited as a basis in later regulations), the Autonomous Communities are responsible for the management and execution of neonatal screening programs: organization of services, selection of centers and laboratories, sample collection, clinical follow-up, and family support. The Ministry cannot directly manage the ordinary service (except in very specific areas), nor override the organizational competencies of the autonomous regions.

The Autonomous Communities are obliged to guarantee, at minimum, the services included in the state common portfolio, but they can offer complementary services or expand the screening catalog with their own resources. The Ministry's role is to ensure, through portfolio regulation, evaluation, coordination, and cohesion instruments, that there is a guaranteed common floor throughout the territory and that the child population has access, under conditions of equity and quality, to the neonatal screenings considered essential.

Carmen Martínez is a historic leader of the PSOE in the Valencian Community and, since 2023, a deputy in the Congress for the Valencia constituency, integrated into the Socialist Group. Her party is the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, through its Valencian federation PSPV‑PSOE, where she has held relevant organizational positions. A family doctor by training, she has focused much of her political work on health, public services, and municipal management. In the current legislature, she has become one of the most visible voices of the PSOE in health matters and the chair of the investigative commission on the DANA.

Party and institutional affiliation

Carmen Martínez is a member of the PSOE, specifically the PSPV‑PSOE, and is part of the Socialist Parliamentary Group in the Congress of Deputies. She is a national deputy for the Valencia constituency in the XV Legislature, holding a seat since the 2023 general elections, after running as one of the top positions on the socialist list for that province, as recorded in various biographies and official Congress and political transparency profiles (Congress, Newtral, transparency profile).

Origins and professional profile

Born in Quart de Poblet (Valencia) in 1962, she holds a degree in Medicine and Surgery and is a specialist in Family Medicine and Community Health. Before dedicating herself exclusively to politics, she worked as a doctor in the public system. Her health profile has marked both her municipal and regional agenda and her current role in Congress, where she is the socialist spokesperson on health, as highlighted by specialized health policy media such as ConSalud and parliamentary publications like Redacción Médica.

Trajectory in local and provincial scope

Her political career began in the Quart de Poblet City Council, where she was a councilor from 1987. In 1999 she became mayor, a position she held uninterruptedly until 2023, more than two decades leading the municipality, as recorded in her institutional profile and the Valencian press (Corts Valencianes, Demócrata – political profile). During that time, she was also a provincial deputy and deputy spokesperson in the Valencia Provincial Council.

In the party's organizational sphere, she was Secretary General of the PSPV in the province of Valencia between 2008 and 2012, consolidating herself as one of the references of Valencian socialism (Newtral, Wikipedia).

Regional stage in the Corts Valencianes

Carmen Martínez's projection expanded to the regional level as a deputy in the Corts Valencianes, where she has been present during several legislatures. The Corts record her participation in commissions such as Health and Consumer Affairs and Public Works, Infrastructure, and Transport, as well as her membership in the Chamber's Board, with secretarial and vice-presidential responsibilities (Corts Valencianes).

In this regional stage, she focused on public health, public services, and territorial administration, strengthening her profile as responsible for health and mental health within the PSPV‑PSOE, according to information gathered by media and transparency platforms (Newtral, Demócrata).

Activity in the Congress of Deputies

Since her arrival in Congress in 2023, her role has focused on the health area and supervision of major crises. She is PSOE spokesperson in the Health Commission and first secretary of that commission, combining these functions with memberships in the Youth and Childhood Commission, the Mixed Commission for the Study of Addiction Problems, and the Mixed Commission for Coordination and Monitoring of the Spanish Strategy for the SDGs, as detailed in her Congress profile and specialized articles (Congress, ConSalud).

Additionally, she has gained notable visibility as chair of the Investigative Commission on the management of the crisis derived from the DANA, which analyzes the administrations' actions regarding the October 29 floods, a position highlighted by media such as El Demócrata, eldiario.es, or El Debate. Her profile as a family doctor and former mayor of a municipality affected by storms reinforces her legitimacy to lead this work.

Public presence and social media

Beyond institutions, she maintains an active presence on social media, where she explicitly identifies as a family doctor and socialist deputy, and regularly uses the alias “carmenpsoe” on platforms such as X/Twitter and Instagram. Her trajectory and assets can also be consulted on transparency platforms like Transparentia Newtral or in the asset declaration linked from RTVE (RTVE – deputies' assets).