Nearly this month, the Social Democratic and Christian Democratic benches initially proposed an amendment to the Budget advocating for increased financial support for parents of children with cancer.
Presently, according to information from social-democratic sources, the proposal has been replaced to extend support further to families and children with disabilities and other chronic illnesses.
The subsidy for caring for a child with a disability or chronic illness will increase from the current 65% established by law to 80% of the parents’ reference salary. This unprecedented 15% increase is described as a significant measure of social justice in the proposal accessed by the agency.
This new proposal, according to the PSD and CDS, not only expands the increase to cases of families with children with cancer (100%) but also provides an increased subsidy for parents of children with disabilities or chronic illnesses (80%).
Earlier this month, during a press conference, PSD and CDS-PP disclosed their intention to propose raising the reference salary of the subsidy for caring for children with cancer to 100% in the forthcoming State Budget for 2026, along with strengthening the use of generic medicines in outpatient settings.
At that event, CDS parliamentary leader Paulo Núncio described the measure as being of “significant social justice” due to its focus on supporting families with children with cancer.
Regarding the enhancement of the use of generic medicines in outpatient care, the goal is to “achieve at least a 65% market share.”
The PSD and CDS-PP are also advocating the introduction of new public-private partnership contracts “whenever two criteria are met.”
“Whenever they improve the quality of healthcare services and are advantageous to public interest in terms of ‘quality versus cost,'” explained Paulo Núncio.
Concerning palliative and continuous care, within the specialized budget discussion framework, PSD and CDS propose a “thorough analysis considering three criteria: the daily patient cost, the increase in minimum wage, and the inflation rate.”
Another proposal for the next year’s budget aims to ensure regular screenings for glaucoma and other eye diseases for users over 60 years of age or those in risk groups, promoted by the primary healthcare services of the National Health Service.
