Spain approves €500 million decree to provide 24-hour care for MND patients

The Spanish government approved a decree on Tuesday that will allocate €500 million for the care of Motor Neuron Disease (MND) patients.

Nearly 4,000 people living with this complex disease in Spain will now receive additional funding to ensure they can be cared for 24 hours a day.

Social Rights minister Pablo Bustinduy assured that the decree will translate into a benefit of nearly €10,000 per month per patient in the advanced stages of the disease.

With this unprecedented investment, MND patients finally see one of their long-standing demands recognized.

"General interest triumphs over political confrontation," Bustinduy said, referring to the law, which was originally approved unanimously by Congress in October 2024.

A year later, the government needed to approve this new decree to fully implement the law and secure its funding.

"It is a historic milestone and a decisive step," Bustinduy added. "For the first time, the reality of people with MND and other highly complex, irreversible diseases is recognized in a specific and concrete way."

The law passed last year established an urgent process for reviewing disability decrees for people with MND.

Under the law, the administration has a maximum of three months to determine a person's dependency level and their rights to access funding.

The law also guarantees that individuals who stop working to become caregivers for people in a situation of dependency can maintain their previous year's social security contribution base.

In addition, the law recognizes people with ALS who are dependent as vulnerable consumers and updates the public health system’s service portfolio to include at-home physiotherapy.