Digital KEPAs: Activated from September – What changes in the process

The activation in the autumn of “Digital KEPA” (i.e. the digitization of the entire certification process except for the medical examination that precedes the opinion) and the Digital Disability Card announced today from the floor of the Parliament the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Kostis Hatzidakisdescribing the relevant amendment arrangements.

“Together with the Ministry of Digital Governance, and in collaboration with the Minister of State, we are promoting an important digital reform for people with disabilities, with the aim of improving their daily lives and drastically reducing the inconvenience they experience in their contact with public services “, emphasized Mr. Hatzidakis.

He explained that “From September 15, the insured will do the entire process digitally and will only visit KEPA once, on the day of their examination for the relevant opinion from the doctors. All procedures related to KEPAs – with the exception of doctors’ opinions – will now be done electronically at KEPAs all over Greece. From the application that the disabled person will make to get a pension or allowance to the final certificate that he will receive”.

It is noted that in parallel with the simplification and acceleration of the procedures, the obligation to pay a fee – amounting to 46 euros per application – is abolished for all categories of disability certification applicants.

“Digital technologies will also be used to help people with disabilities when it comes to exercising their rights and receiving their benefits with the Disability Card, which will start to be issued from November 1. This is another important reform that has been included in the Recovery Fund, it will be used for all contacts with the State, without exception, and for this reason it will make the daily life of our disabled fellow citizens less difficult in their contact with the State”, underlined the Minister Labor and Social Affairs. He added that “for all these arrangements, we took into account the comments of the National Confederation of Persons with Disabilities (ESAMeA) and we are proceeding with these two important reforms with their agreement”. In this context, Mr. Hatzidakis had a meeting earlier this morning with the president of ESAMEA, Mr. Yiannis Vardakastanis.

The Minister of Labor then described the main provisions of the amendment as follows:

First, a National Disability Portal is created, i.e. a single digital platform that acts as a one-stop service and brings together the basic functions of interest to people with disabilities (certification by KEPA, disability register and card, benefits register). “In other words, it is about the electronic point of contact for people with disabilities with the State for all the individual information or services they need.” Through it, people with disabilities:

– They have access to their personal data kept in the Digital Register of the Disabled
-Submit a request for disability assessment and certification,
-Submit a request for a Disability Card,
– They are served for pension, allowance, social and financial benefits or social services, provided by the legislation for disabled people.
– They are informed about the available benefits and the eligibility criteria for these benefits.

Secondly, the disability certification process by the PES is completely reformed, which will henceforth be done digitally with an application and will result in the issuance of a single medical opinion/certification for each use. Mr. Hatzidakis analyzed the steps for certification through the new digital operating system of KEPA:

1. The citizen is given the possibility to submit an electronic application for his assessment by the KEPA with only the necessary data for the certification of his disability.

2. Next, the doctor of the interested party creates and digitally finalizes the Referral File, to facilitate the work of the health committees.

3. The file will be processed electronically and will be completed by the doctors chosen by the insured with the specialties corresponding to his ailments.

4. This is followed by the examination by the health committee of KEPA and the issuance of a Single Opinion and Notification of the Disability Certification, binding for all public services, with which the citizen will have access to all the benefits and facilities provided for by the legislation.
“In conclusion, the assessment of disability in KEPA is being simplified and digitized, so that citizens do not have to suffer the inconvenience that existed until now”, said Mr. Hatzidakis.

Thirdly, an important reform is also underway for the health committees, which will now be staffed not only by public doctors, but also by private doctors, who will, however, 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 Body with new doctors and modern specialties so that the relevant examinations and opinions can be done more quickly.

Fourth, the Digital Disability Register is established, in which disabled people who are entitled to benefits are registered. In this way, the State will know who is entitled to what, but each person with a disability will also know their rights and will be able to control the correct observance of the legislation regarding them.

As Mr. Hatzidakis noted, with the Digital Register the reform of the Disability Card will take on “flesh and bones” and will draw its data from it. “Through the Card, people with disabilities can certify their status in order to exercise their respective rights. The Disability Card proves the identity of its holder and the status of the person with a disability against any public authority and third party. It will replace any document/certificate used today and will be shown by beneficiaries at public services for priority service, at cultural venues for free entry, on public transport for a free ticket.”

“In other words” – explained the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs – “disabled people will not need 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 Disability Card will be issued once and will cover them for all services, making it easier for disabled people in their daily transactions.” He emphasized that with a legal technical improvement following the observations of the ESAmeA, those with a disability of 50% and above will be registered in the Disability Register, compared to 67% that was stated in the original text of the amendment.

Fifth, with the Register of Benefits, people with disabilities will find all the rights and benefits they are entitled to registered on an electronic site and they can be informed of the special conditions for each one.

“These are modernization arrangements that make the life of the disabled less difficult, improve their daily life and find a positive response from the stakeholders themselves. That is why I hope they will be voted by all the parties in the Parliament”, concluded the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.

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