Project that forces citizens to pay INSS expertise if they lose the action is approved in the Chamber

The Chamber of Deputies approved this Tuesday (15) a bill that determines that anyone who loses sickness benefits or disability retirement must pay the fees for medical examinations carried out by the INSS (National Institute of Social Security).

The project was approved by symbolic vote. As there were changes, it goes back to the Senate.

The text, reported by Deputy Hiran Gonçalves (PP-RR), completely changes the project approved by the Senate, authored by Senator Sérgio Petecão (PSD-AC). The original proposal provided that the government should pay for investigations already carried out and those that took place until December 31, 2024. The rule would apply to actions in which the INSS was a party and that were within the competence of the Federal Court.

In the Chamber, deputies added provisions that deal with expert fees and requirements for filing lawsuits and precautionary measures in lawsuits involving disability benefits.

According to the text, the defeated party must pay for the judicial medical examination carried out in a lawsuit that has the INSS as a party and that discusses the granting of assistance benefits to the disabled person or social security aid for work incapacity – such as sick pay and retirement for invalidity. The rule does not apply to those who are entitled to judicial gratuity.

The government leader in the Chamber, Ricardo Barros (PP-PR), said he had negotiated with Senator Sérgio Petecão that the changes made by the deputies be maintained. “He understood that it is necessary for the INSS that new rules be established, that we can move forward in this issue of payment regulation and accepted these amendments, they are agreed with him”, he said.

He also defended the proposal passed in the House. “There are no resources to pay for the expertise. We are going to approve the project and then we have to approve a PLN [projeto de lei do Congresso] to allocate the resources to the INSS to pay for last year’s expertise, this year’s and those that will be carried out by the end of the year”, he said.

“The expertise that should pay was the Federal Court. The Federal Court cut the expertise budget and asked the government to temporarily assume these costs, and the government assumed for two years the costs of expertise”, he pointed out.

“Now this project extends this exceptionality, because we are paying an expense that belongs to the Judiciary. The government loses a lot of money because the expertise is not carried out and the employment contracts are suspended. We want to pay the expertise, it is not the government’s obligation , but the government is assuming the burden of justice so that the experts can work and be paid.”

The bill also amends the law on Social Security benefit plans and includes a provision on legal disputes and precautionary measures related to work accidents.

According to the article inserted in the law, when the action is based on an act of federal medical expertise, the initial petition must contain, in addition to the mandatory requirements, a clear description of the disease and the limitations it imposes, in addition to the indication of the activity for which the author claims to be incapacitated.

It should also include possible inconsistencies in the contested medical-expert assessment and a statement on the existence of a previous lawsuit, with clarification of the reasons why the author questions the previous decision.

The project establishes the documents that must support the initial petition, such as proof of denial or non-extension of the benefit, document on the occurrence of the work accident pointed out as the cause of the incapacity and medical certificate referring to the disease alleged as the cause of the incapacity.

The project also changes the rule on contributions to Social Security for those who made contributions until July 1994, in an attempt to avoid a practice that increased the value of the benefit — known as the “miracle of the single contribution”.