The new Law on Travel Benefits for Persons with Disabilities, which introduced restrictions and control measures, entered into force on February 17th and has since reduced the number of requests for payment of these benefits by 90 to 95 percent, "Vijesti" learned from several social work centers.
They state that this option is now used by those who really need to travel and who actually make the trip, and that combating this abuse will save the state 12 to 13 million annually.
In recent years, "Vijesti" has published several articles on the topic of organized fraud in the disability and social protection system, and one of them is the presentation of fictitious trips taken by people with disabilities so that they and their companions can claim compensation for these alleged expenses.
According to data from the Ministry of Social Welfare's summary, people with disabilities and their companions made 244 thousand trips last year, for which they collected reimbursements in the amount of 14,3 million euros. These abuses have increased significantly over the past four to five years; before that, the number of trips was around five to 10 thousand per year, and the amount of reimbursement was around 200 thousand.
An interlocutor of "Vijesti" from this department said that there has been a drastic reduction in the number of requests, that there were municipalities in which over 200 requests for payment of compensation were submitted daily, and that now that number has been reduced to about ten and that it is similar in other municipalities.
"These figures show how widespread fraud was, that is, that 90 to 95 percent of those previous trips were fictitious. Due to the introduction of order through the new law, the state budget will achieve savings of at least 12 to 13 million annually. For example, that is how much it will cost to build a new school in the City Quarter of Podgorica. In the past 4-5 years, about 40 million euros have been stolen in this way," said the interlocutor of "Vijesti".
The previous law allowed the user to submit only a statement that he had taken a trip in his car from the Social Work Center where he had traveled, without any possibility of checks. The most common “trips” were between Rožaje, and other cities in the north, to Herceg Novi. The most common trips were for 12 consecutive days, and the officials could only confirm that after 12 consecutive days he had a return trip from Rožaje to Herceg Novi every day.
"Vijesti" previously reported that abuses are often used by people with disabilities who receive free rehabilitation at the Igalo Institute for 20 days. During their stay at the Institute, they would come to the Center for Social Work every day to submit a statement that they had arrived from their city on that very day, and so on for 12 days in a row. After that, they and their companion, most often a family member, would receive reimbursement of expenses that could amount to 1.200 euros for both of them.
"The law now allows for compensation for a maximum of one trip in seven days. So those staying in the institutes for those three weeks will be able to receive a maximum of three compensations. Controls and the possibility of matching data from other institutions are also now foreseen. If it is discovered that someone submitted travel statements while staying at the Institute and going for treatments, a report will be filed against them, they will be required to return the money and pay a fine. Also, the data will be compared with the Health Insurance Fund because they pay travel costs in cases where people with disabilities travel for check-ups, rehabilitation or other medical services. There are suspicions that some of them have also submitted a request to us for reimbursement of the costs of those trips, and now this will also be checked," said the interlocutor of "Vijesti".
The Ministry of Social Welfare officially responded to "Vijesti" that the new law on travel benefits for people with disabilities was adopted on February 2, that it was published in the "Official Gazette of Montenegro" on February 9, and that it entered into force on February 17, which is why it is too early for official analyses of its implementation.
"The competent institutions and authorities are acting in accordance with the new legal solutions, and beneficiaries are exercising their rights in the manner and under the conditions prescribed by this law. Given that the new Law has recently come into effect, it is not possible at this time to provide a precise assessment of any changes in the number of applications submitted. The competent authorities will monitor the dynamics of application submission in the coming period and, if necessary, conduct a detailed analysis of trends, after which we will be able to provide precise data on any decrease or increase in the number of applications," the Ministry announced.
They state that the deadline for submitting a request for reimbursement of expenses is 60 days from the date of the trip, so for example, the recapitulative statement for January may include refunds from the previous month. This means that the effects of the new law could only be officially seen in the data for April.
In Montenegro, since 2008, there has been a special law called the Law on Travel Benefits for Persons with Disabilities, according to which these persons are entitled to reimbursement of expenses for 12 trips per year in bus and rail transport on the territory of Montenegro, but also if they travel by their own car. They are also entitled to a companion, who also receives this compensation. If they travel by themselves or by a companion's car, they do not need any proof that they traveled, but only a statement, as well as a certificate from the Center for Social Work in the city they traveled to, and they receive money in the amount of the bus ticket between the places they showed that they traveled through.
Rožaje three times stronger than Podgorica
According to data on material benefits from the recapitulative statement for January, in that month, persons with disabilities were paid compensation of 1,62 million euros for the 26.704 trips shown.
The most trips were reported by users from Rožaje - 6.978 for 673 people, who were paid 482 thousand euros. Although Podgorica has ten times more inhabitants than Rožaje, this benefit was used by 489 residents of the capital for 2.382 trips, for which they received 143 thousand euros.
Although Petnjica is one of the smallest municipalities, its 184 PWDs reported 1.802 trips for which they received 109 thousand euros. In Kotor, which is five times larger, 30 people used this benefit for 178 trips and received 9.848 euros for them.
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