Concern that Cancer Patients will Lose Benefits
May 09, 2011
Posted by:Suzanne Trask
As reported by Worcester News, Macmillan Cancer Support is worried cancer patients will miss out on money they need but West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin, who is on the committee scrutinising the Welfare Reform Bill, is trying to reassure people that will not happen as part of the simplification process.
Anna Mason, Macmillan benefits adviser, who sees people from West Worcestershire as part of the newly created Worcestershire CAB Macmillan Benefits Advice Service, said: “We see people with cancer who are suffering financially as a result of their illness. Many of them would like to return to work but are just not well enough to do so and need the financial assistance provided by the welfare system. I understand why the system needs to be simplified but that does not mean that people with cancer should be penalised.”
Macmillan wants everyone who is eligible for employment and support allowance (ESA) to receive it for as long as they need it, regardless of their financial circumstances, and wants patients receiving oral chemotherapy and radiotherapy to be automatically eligible for ESA just like patients receiving non oral chemotherapy.
The charity also wants financial support to be available immediately to people whose health has suddenly deteriorated instead of having to wait up to six months to prove they are eligible for disability living allowance (DLA).
Mrs Baldwin, a Conservative backbencher, said: “The new Government’s welfare review means that cancer patients receiving non-oral chemotherapies are already automatically entitled to ESA support even if they do not meet the assessment’s standard functional criteria. This improves the situation cancer patients experienced under the previous government.”
Mrs Baldwin said the Government has also asked for more advice regarding oral chemotherapy cancer patients in a further review.
“To ensure there is always a safety net there will be no time limit for income-related ESA, nor will this apply to those in those in support,” she said. “Terminally ill cancer patients will also be exempt from any qualifying period for the personal independence payment which will replace DLA."