The Government increases aid for the care of dependent people by 17.6%

The Government has approved this Tuesday in the Council of Ministers the reform of Royal Decree 1051/2013, promoted by the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, which increases aid to dependency and hours of home help, among other improvements. Specifically, the economic benefits for care in the family environment will increase by 17.65%, a measure that will affect 540,000 people. Thus, for grade I, the maximum monthly amount increases from 153 to 180 euros; for grade II, from 268.79 to 315.9, and for grade III, from 387.64 to 455.4.

On the other hand, aid linked to the service generally increased by 4.5%. In addition, in the case of the economic benefit linked to the residential care service, the maximum amount of grade II will be equated to that corresponding to grade III and in the economic benefit linked to the day center service, the maximum amount of the grade I to that corresponding to grade II, since the prices of said services are the same or very similar. This measure will affect almost 200,000 people.

In this way, for grade I, the maximum amount will go from 300 to 313.50 euros per month in general –313.50 for economic benefit linked to the residential care service (SAR) and 445.30 for the benefit linked to the center of day (SCD)–; for grade II, it increases from 426.12 to 445.30 euros –747.25 for SAR and 445.30 for SCD– and for grade III, from 715.07 to 747.25 euros.

Likewise, the economic benefits for personal assistance are increased by 4.5% and the amount of grade II is equal to that corresponding to grade III. This measure will affect almost 10,000 people. Thus, in grade I, the maximum monthly amount goes from 300 to 313.50; in grade II, from 426.12 to 747.25, and in grade III, from 715.07 to 747.25.

The reform also establishes minimum amounts that until now were not contemplated in state regulations. Currently, there are more than 60,000 people with economic benefits who receive less than 100 euros per month and of these, close to half receive less than 50 euros per month. Therefore, from now on, it is proposed to establish the following minimum amounts: 100 euros for grade I, 150 euros for grade II and 200 euros for grade III.

On the other hand, the hourly intensity of home help will be extended, since, according to the Ministry, currently, “the intensities in many cases do not offer a sufficient response to people in a situation of dependency”. Specifically, for grade I, it will go from a maximum of 20 hours to between 20 and 37 hours; in grade II, until now they could receive between 21 and 45 hours and now they may have between 38 and 64 hours, and in grade III, before they could access between 46 and 70 hours and now, between 65 and 94.

This measure will be applied progressively so that the new hourly intensities will apply to cases that enter the system with the Individual Care Program of the Home Help Service (PIA of SAD) from the entry into force of the new royal decree. For cases with previous SAD AIP, it is proposed to maintain the planned intensity unless the case is reviewed.. It is estimated that this measure would affect some 30,000 people by the end of 2023.