The Spanish Council of Ministers has approved a new royal decree aimed at modernizing the regulation of the care benefit for parents of children with serious illnesses, commonly known as 'cume'. This provision allows one parent to reduce their working day by at least 50% while receiving full salary. The reform addresses previous regulatory gaps that did not align with current care realities, specifically extending eligibility to include pathologies previously excluded, such as severe autism and the Poirier-Bienvenu neurodevelopmental syndrome. Additionally, the decree establishes a regulatory pathway to update this list of conditions more agilely in the future.
A significant change introduced by the new regulation concerns the renewal periods for the benefit. Previously, the right was recognized for an initial month, renewable once for two months, and subsequently every four months. Under the new rules, the initial recognition period is extended to four months, with a first renewal possible for six months, followed by renewals every eight months. This adjustment aims to reduce the bureaucratic burden on families who must submit reports during each procedure. The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration noted that over 19,753 workers in the private sector currently benefit from this provision, which is primarily managed by mutual insurance companies collaborating with Social Security.
The decree also clarifies the requirements regarding hospitalization. Previously, the regulation explicitly required hospitalization for minors to qualify, leaving 'assimilated situations'—severe cases not requiring admission—poorly protected and often leading to legal disputes. The new text eliminates the need for a classic prolonged hospital stay, allowing families to prove their situation through reports from public health services, whether issued by primary care physicians or specialists. This change addresses concerns raised during the summer when a draft version limited such reports to specialists only, which alarmed families due to long waiting lists in the system.
Despite these improvements, the reform introduces a new inspection mechanism that has generated concern among advocacy groups. The regulation mandates that 24 months after the initial recognition of the benefit, and every two years thereafter, a binding report must be issued by the Public Health Service inspection. This report will verify if the disease persists and if the need for direct, continuous, and permanent care remains. Ainhoa Urones, vice president of the association Asfacume, criticized this measure, arguing that it places excessive scrutiny on families and distracts from the need to regulate the actions of mutual insurance companies more strictly.
The new rules also provide greater clarity on cohabitation scenarios. If both parents are affected by a serious illness, the subsidy can be recognized for both. In cases where parents live together, they may alternate receiving the benefit for periods of no less than 15 days, each receiving 50% of their salary. For divorced parents with shared custody, the benefit will be received alternately in accordance with the cohabitation regime. Furthermore, the Ministry plans to develop a technical guide to support the assessment and accreditation of care needs, aiming to ensure homogeneous application across the national territory and reduce interpretative divergences among health professionals and managing entities.
Sources: El País Portada.