Recently, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection submitted a project to amend article 1 of Law 121/2001 on supplementary social protection for certain categories of the population, which will ensure equality and eliminate discrimination. The amendment is connected with the recommendations of the Council due to the decision of 6 June 2019 in case 30/19.

FOR A LONG TIME

The applicant, a citizen of the Republic of Moldova with the status of a victim of political repression, as well as a person with disabilities, appealed to the Council, citing discrimination in access to social welfares. He claimed that since the establishment of the pension on the territory of the Russian Federation, social payments from the Republic of Moldova have been shut down: the monthly state allowance and annual welfare assistance provided due to the status of a victim of political repression, as well as health insurance provided to all persons with disabilities. In practice, these social benefits are available only to persons who, in addition to being victims of political repression, are also beneficiaries of the state pension system.

The Council noted an indirect discrimination against persons who have been granted a pension on the territory of another state while maintaining the status of a victim of political repression, who are not pension recipients in the national system. At the same time, the Council also noted indirect discrimination against persons with disabilities living in the Republic of Moldova, who supported the establishment of an old-age pension on the territory of another state.

Through the decision from case 30/19, the Council recommended the government to take the necessary actions to ensure that all rehabilitated victims of political repression living in the Republic of Moldova receive appropriate welfares, whether they are beneficiaries of the national pension system or not.

Coincidently, through the same decision as well as the other two previous decisions (cases 08/2017 from 18.04.2017 and 66/2017 from 18.08.2017), the Council recommended the government to introduce a way so all persons with disabilities living in the Republic of Moldova could use a free health insurance even if they are no longer beneficiaries of pensions in the national system. The nominal exclusion of these individuals, to wit, from the system makes the health insurance policy invalid.

The draft law amending Article 1 of Law 121/2001 on supplementary social protection for certain categories of the population (link), developed by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection, is designed to implement the recommendation of the Council on the provision of social welfares to persons with the status of victims of political repression, as well as if they have established a pension on the territory of another state – this will act according to citizen interests. At the same time, the Council calls on the Ministry to consider the possibility of completing article 9 of Law 1585/1998 on compulsory health insurance in order to identify an authorized institution that will keep nominal records of all citizens with disabilities of the Republic of Moldova, with a view of transferring the list to the National health insurance Fund. Thus, the Fund will be able to use a health insurance policy, even if they are not beneficiaries of the national pension system.