Are changes to the ”Criteria for establishing disability" being made on paper or in reality?

The Cabinet of ministers has recently introduced changes to the "criteria for determining disability." These changes encompass alterations in the "percentage and duration of violations of the functions of the body." As a part of these modifications, a number of new diseases have been included in the list of names of diseases, injuries, and deficiencies, along with their corresponding severity, stage, and clinical functional characteristics of persistent violations of bodily functions. Among the diseases added are heart and lung diseases.

There has been a surge in complaints over the past few years within the country regarding the difficulty in obtaining disability status. An example is S.I., a 16-year-old resident of Ujar district, whose parents have expressed grievances about the denial of disability benefits for their daughter. Despite having a severe psychological illness and providing all the necessary documents, she has not been assigned disability status. This has led to the discontinuation of her pension, leaving the family unable to afford necessary medical treatment.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, in an interview with Turan, recognized the addition of new diseases to the criteria, as well as an increase in the percentage of violations of body functions necessary in some cases to determine disability. Additionally, the duration of violations of bodily functions has been designated as "indefinite" in certain instances.

The disability assessment process is now conducted electronically through an e-system, based on information from healthcare institutions. After the disability is confirmed, social payments for disability are automatically assigned via the e-system. However, economist Natik Jafarli expressed concern in a comment on Radio Azadlig, noting that the transition to measuring disability as a percentage creates opportunities for human errors and potential corruption.

Since June 1, 2022, the "criteria for determining disability" have been in effect. Disability is now determined based on the percentage of impairment of bodily functions. The assessment is conducted in intervals of 5 percent, with categories ranging from 31 to 60 percent, 61 to 80 percent, and 81 to 100 percent. If there are multiple cases of bodily function impairment leading to disability determination, the percentage of violation is calculated separately for each case. If the percentage indicators are the same, the final indicator is 10; otherwise, the highest indicator is increased by 10 percent, not exceeding 100 percent in total.