Towards a preventive approach to disability
How can we switch from a reactive policy to a preventive policy? CM makes five recommendations.
Today the focus is mainly on getting people who are already disabled to work again.
There must be at least an equal focus on preventing people from becoming incapacitated for work. That is the responsibility of the entire society.
To achieve this, we must focus on a decisive general prevention policy . This can be done by increasing the prevention budget to 3 percent of health care expenditure.
A fair number of the causes of disability (but certainly not all) are linked to the workplace. More and stronger preventive measures in the field of work and work - private relationships are therefore necessary.
That is why CM advocates:
- a joint action by all actors involved (employers, trade unions, health insurance companies, external prevention services...)
- concrete objectives for the reduction of disability per occupational sector with the necessary incentives
- adapted working conditions in the final phase of the career
- measures to bring more balance to the combination of working and raising children, for example by increasing maternity leave to 1 year, divided between both parents or reversing savings in time credits
Suddenly your normal salary disappears and you fall back on a (much) lower replacement income for your living expenses, often with additional health costs.
That is why CM advocates:
- raising minimum benefits to 10 percent above the poverty line;
- the abolition of the status of cohabitants when granting benefits, so that a personal lifestyle choice no longer has a major negative effect on the amount of the benefit;
- automating the allocation of rights and benefits so that more people get what they are entitled to with a minimum of administrative obligations.
In the recent past, new opportunities and pathways have been created to guide people back to work. Give them time to achieve their goal.
In order to voluntarily guide a larger group of disabled people back to work, more resources are needed for external prevention services and health insurance companies.
It is necessary to assess the effectiveness of the existing system for part-time and gradual resumption of work.
Finally, CM advocates not only focusing on work in the reintegration policy. Work is not the only meaningful activity in life, other choices should also be possible.
In addition to a political role, CM as a health fund naturally has a very important role in the field. Both in the prevention and evaluation and recognition of disability, timely and correct payment of the replacement income, guiding our members through all obligations and paperwork, informing and guiding them in a reintegration process.
These often involve complex processes and it can be difficult for people to see the forest for the trees. We do everything we can to make our services better and simpler every day. That is the guarantee we want to offer as a health fund.
