Government approves free medicines for the 145 thousand beneficiaries of the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly

This Thursday, the Council of Ministers approved free medication for the approximately 145 thousand beneficiaries of the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly (CSI).

Without returns or refunds, the measure will be automatically applied when prescription medicines are purchased in pharmacies.

Until now, elderly people who receive the CSI had a 50% contribution to medicines, which implied a significant financial effort for this broad group of Portuguese people with a more vulnerable economic situation.

A point highlighted by the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, in the press conference following the end of the Council of Ministers: “With this measure we will provide access to all the necessary therapy for around 145 thousand pensioners and retirees, who often end up not being able to access to the full range of their treatments given the very degraded economic condition in which they live. With this effort we will allow this to no longer happen”.

The measure now approved by the Council of Ministers is part of the Government’s intention to give priority to combating poverty, especially among those who have already left working life, having fewer resources to overcome this situation. With this objective, the Prime Minister also announced an extraordinary increase of 50 euros in the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly, which will come into force in June . A measure in addition to the elimination of the means condition that made the granting of this support depend on the value of the income of the applicants’ children.

At the press conference, Luís Montenegro highlighted that this increase is a first step in the Government’s objective of gradually reinforcing the value of the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly, in a trajectory aimed at ensuring that in 2028 retirees in situations of greater fragility can have a reference value guaranteed amount of 820 euros, and with the objective of equalizing the value of the national minimum wage, in the next legislature.