In recent weeks, the government's proposal to equalize the civil disability pension to the social pension has been sparking discussion. Critics say: "What on earth does a severely disabled person have to complain about? After all, a civil disabled person earns a total of 890 euros. And then, with Law 104 , there's work leave for a family member and 4% VAT. Home care, rehabilitation, and school support." But will it really be this way? Let's look at some numbers in detail.
Social and disability pension
La social pension The benefit, provided by INPS, was established by Article 26 of Law 30 April 1969, for Italian and foreign citizens in difficult economic conditions and with incomes below the annual thresholds. The amount of the benefit is 453 € for fourteen months. The disability pension, instead, pursuant to article 74 of law no. 469 of 1961, it is available to all citizens with a recognized civil disability, greater than 74%, aged between 18 and 65 who do not carry out any work activity and with an income lower than 4.4808,95 euros. The amount of the allowance is, in 2018, 282 €Added to this is the attendance allowance, which is paid to those with a serious disability that prevents them from carrying out daily activities without continuous assistance. The value of the allowance paid amounts to 516 euros. But are eight hundred euros really enough to solve the daily problems of a severely disabledWe can look to history to understand how Italy is the cradle of social rights, of the need to affirm individual autonomy and self-determination. Yet millions of people in our country are unable to go out, confined to their homes because they don't have elevators or can't use sidewalks, which, when they exist, aren't up to standard.
Exorbitant expenses
Recently, when I published another article about disability, I received numerous requests for help. Among them, a 65-year-old woman wrote to me:
I'm Ivana , a fully disabled person entitled to a disability allowance. The disease developed gradually, but the progression progressed so rapidly that I was confined to a wheelchair, with only a bed as an alternative. I'm confined to an apartment because, living on the mezzanine floor, I'd have to climb several steps that are impossible for me. The result: I can only use the Green Cross and Red Cross, and it's clear that these are only for medical visits or hospitalizations. On the other hand, I have to pay 40-50 euros for each transport. When I could still climb the steps, I used Auser, which charged me 5 euros. It seems a bitter irony that I don't even receive physical therapy because the expenses are so high, having to rely on a caregiver. I receive material and financial help from my sister and my son, and I've discovered that the facilities (hospitalization), for someone in my condition, are very expensive.
Barriers to civilization
Italy therefore continues to lag behind on many issues, among all that relating to the reduction of architectural barriers, while positive experiences have been recorded in France and England, which offer personalized education and tailor-made jobs to people with disabilities; while in countries like Sweden, individual municipalities support them to the extent of offering disabled people transportation to rehabilitation centers, prosthetic aids, and even a garage space near their homes to store them. Despite the fact that the legislation on the matter is peremptory – laws regulating the removal of architectural barriers in public and private offices date back to the 70s – institutions of the pardon and amnesty To keep the situation unchanged. In this regard, Flavio, who has been using a wheelchair for many years due to a progressive disease, tells me:
“ I encounter disabilities. I encounter them when I go to a restaurant, and there are stairs at the entrance. One problem has always been the ATM. I've never been able to use it alone because they're too tall, so I always have to ask for help .”
The role of the family
ISTAT data tells us that there are approximately 4,5 million disabled people in Italy and that the efficiency of services, as well as the availability of residential facilities capable of caring for those with severe disabilities, are affected by significant regional disparities due to the national funding allocation methods. Suffice it to say that in the northeast, residential centers provide 98% coverage, while this percentage hovers around 0.8% in Calabria . Not to mention that, in addition to the virtually nonexistent coverage, there is a lack of professionalism among social and healthcare workers. Interviewing a healthcare assistant with decades of experience in the sector, who works at a day center for severely disabled people in Catanzaro, she told me:
What 's often overlooked when talking about disability is that the first problem is often the families. There are young people who, through all the rehabilitation therapies, manage to achieve excellent results, but then their families leave them abandoned to their own devices, sedating them even when there's no need, and making the situation even worse. In my decades of experience, I've seen all kinds of families: courageous families, desperate families, families that are falling apart. Then, when it comes to the elderly, the success of the therapies also depends on the professionals: there are perhaps negligent professionals who don't even bother lifting the elderly person from their beds.
Another figure provided by ISTAT concerns the educational level of disabled people. It is noted that for every 100 inhabitants, only 14,2% have a high school diploma or higher education qualification. Regarding the right to exemption from co-payments for specialist services provided by the National Health Service, the exemption extends only to tests and visits related to the diagnosis and treatment of the condition for which the patient has been recognized as disabled.
What is the real obstacle?
A further specification is necessary for the prosthetic treatments and aids for the disabled and elderlyA decree dated January 12, 2017, updated the Essential Levels of Assistance (LEA), which also includes the new Tariff List of Prosthetics and Aids, published in the Official Journal on March 18, 2017, which updates the one that had been stuck since 1999. This means that until last year, the situation was one in which the Local Health Authority (ASL) provided disabled people with only those aids included in a 17-year-old list that did not take into account the innovations and technological improvements that would facilitate the daily difficulties of disabled people. In 2018, despite the new law, further delays persist as the law needs to be approved by the State-Regions Conference. Claudio's story, who uses a wheelchair to get around, is emblematic:
“ When I went to the hospital because I needed a wheelchair, they gave me a catalog and told me I could choose from several options, so after consulting it, I chose the one I thought best suited my needs. The doctor told me I had to pay for this wheelchair out of pocket and smugly asked me, ‘Do you want a luxury wheelchair?’ I didn’t even know luxury ones existed; what I needed was simply a wheelchair that could be folded so I could put it in the car when I went out, but this way I was always forced to ask for help .”
Summing up our discussion, we cannot help but note that even more than architectural barriers and illness, the main obstacle for disabled people continues to be human beings.
Carmen Pupo
Sociologist, copywriter, and journalist. I focus on topics related to inclusion and social rights. I also write about music, new media, and technology.
