K. Hatzidakis: We drastically reduce the suffering of our disabled fellow citizens

“We are proceeding with an important reform which will drastically reduce the suffering for our disabled fellow citizens”, said the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Kostis Hatzidakis, supporting the relevant amendment he tabled for the digital KEPA and the Disability Card, in the draft law for “Emerging information and communication technologies, strengthening digital governance and other provisions” discussed in the Plenary.

Mr. Hatzidakis underlined that “today we are improving everyday life by drastically reducing the suffering of our disabled fellow citizens”. On the one hand, the way is opened so that from September 15, the entire disability certification process through KEPA will be done electronically. Thus, they will only visit the KEPAs once, on the day of their examination”. This, the minister noted, “is an important reform which drastically reduces the inconvenience and speeds up the procedures at the KEPAs”.

From November 1, the minister also mentioned, digital technologies are being used so that the disabled can exercise their rights and receive their benefits with the Disability Card. This is “also an important reform which has been included in the Recovery Fund and makes the daily life of our disabled fellow citizens less difficult in their contact with the State”.

Mr. Hatzidakis pointed out that the ministry took into account and adopted all the comments of the ESAmeA, and with additional legal and technical regulations, among other things, the fee of 46 euros for applicants to the KEPA exam is abolished, while those with a disability of 50% and above will be registered in the Registry above (and not 67% as stated in the original version of the amendment), so that all those who have rights or facilities related to their disability can receive the Disability Card

Presenting the basic provisions of the amendment, Mr. Hatzidakis said that a National Disability Portal is being created, i.e. a single digital platform that functions as a one-stop service and gathers the main functions of interest to people with disabilities, such as certification by KEPA and the register of benefits.

“The process of certifying disability by KEPAs is being completely reformed, which from now on will be done digitally with an application and will result in the issuance of a single medical opinion-certification. Thus, the citizen is given the possibility to submit an electronic application for evaluation by KEPAs only with the information necessary to certify his disability. Then, the doctor of the person concerned creates and digitally finalizes the Referral File, to make the work of the health committees much easier. The file will be circulated electronically and will be completed by the doctors who has been chosen by the insured person with the specialties that correspond to his ailments. This is followed by the examination by the KEPA health committee and the issuance of a Unified Opinion and Disclosure of the Disability Certification, binding for all public services, with which the citizen will have access to all the benefits and facilities provided for in the legislation sia to support people with disabilities.

At the same time, we are also bringing about an important reform for the health committees: These will now be staffed not only by public doctors, but also by private doctors, who will have to be registered in a special register. This is the Special Corps of Doctors (ESI), in which doctors are registered after successfully completing special training. The expansion of the field, from which the members of the health committees will be drawn, addresses the need to enrich the Corps with new doctors and modern specialties. The Digital Disability Register is established, in which disabled people who are entitled to benefits are recorded. In this way, the State will know who is entitled to what, but also each person with a disability will know their rights and will be able to control the correct observance of the legislation regarding them”.

The minister emphasized that the Disability Card will draw its data from the Registry. Through it, people with disabilities can certify their status in order to exercise their respective rights against any public authority and third party. In other words, it will not be necessary for disabled people to produce a new certificate every now and then that will prove that they are indeed disabled when they come into contact with a public service. The card will cover them for all services.

The rapporteur of SYRIZA, Mario Katsis, said that he will vote “absent” on the amendment because “we do not trust you and with your policies for three years you have harmed the disabled”. He estimated that what is provided for in the amendment “you will not operate and you will not implement them because they are pre-election announcements”. We, he said, “we are satisfied that even at the last minute we saved some things with the legislative improvements made by the minister” but this is also “an example of the governmental instrumentalization and piracy that is done with provisions that existed and were in force”

The minister replied that this attitude of SYRIZA “constitutes the best sponsorship for the government” as “you say No even where all of Greece agrees”. You practice “a toxic opposition, at every opportunity. We, as a party, thank you but this is not for the benefit of Democracy and a healthy dialogue”. He pointed out that the digital KEPA and the Disability Card “are accepted by the disability movement but SYRIZA does not!”. “We do not move dogmatically and yes we had a dialogue” he noted and concluded by saying “we have a clear conscience, we are taking steps forward, you chose your toxic opposition in this matter and this is our difference”.