On Wednesday, an amendment to the MRPiPS regulation came into force, according to which disability certificates for people with rare and genetic diseases will be issued for a longer period. According to the new regulations, the minimum period of the certificate for people under 16 is 3 years.
The new regulation is not only intended to relieve people with disabilities and their loved ones, but also to reduce the workload of adjudicating teams. Currently, there are 16 provincial teams and 295 district teams in Poland.
The provisions introduced in the regulation specify the minimum periods of validity of decisions for persons over 16 years of age: 7 years – in the case of rare genetic diseases (according to the annex to the regulation, this applies to 208 diseases, including congenital hydrocephalus, cystic fibrosis or spinal muscular atrophy) or Down syndrome.
In turn, the minimum period of the certificate for persons under 16 is 3 years. However, it will be possible to issue certificates of disability to persons until they reach the age of 16, i.e. until the end of the possible period, in the case of confirmation of a rare genetic disease or Down syndrome in the child.
Decisions granted to people with disabilities are associated with the right to many benefits. These include care benefits, care allowance, tax relief (e.g. the possibility of deducting care expenses under the rehabilitation relief); priority in access to social and care services; facilities in access to health benefits – e.g. rehabilitation, sanatorium treatment, the right to a parking card; additional support in education (the possibility of obtaining an assistant at school or an individual course of study).
According to data from the Electronic National Disability Assessment Monitoring System, the number of people with disabilities up to 16 years of age with permanent assessments is 71.3 thousand. The remaining group – almost 192 thousand – have fixed-term assessments, and it is in this group that those who may benefit from the changes are included.
In turn, the number of people with disabilities after the age of 16 with permanent disability certificates is 1.72 million, and for a specified period – 1.24 million. (PAP)
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