The Spanish cabinet has given the green light to a royal decree that will allocate €500 million for sufferers of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) – often also referred to as Motor Neuron Disease (MND) – as well as other illnesses requiring 24-hour care.
The new measure will also strengthen the System for Autonomy and Care for Dependent People (SAAD) that serves this community.
Proposed by Spain’s Social Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy (main image), the decree ensures the full rollout of the ALS law’s provisions – chief among them the promise of round-the-clock professional care for those in the most advanced stages of illness.
Patients in this situation will be entitled to 24-hour assistance, every day of the year, provided by a minimum of five professionals working in shifts.
To make this possible, the decree will formally create a new ‘grade III plus’ category within the dependency system. This will entitle beneficiaries to intensive, extraordinary support, with payments of nearly 10,000 euros per month – around 120,000 euros annually – shared equally between the state and the regional government to cover all care expenses.
The approval ends a year-long wait for patients, during which advocacy groups claimed that almost 1,000 people had died before receiving the aid they had been promised.
As a stopgap earlier this year, the Ministry of Health pledged 10 million euros to the national ALS confederation (ConELA) so it could immediately fund the hiring of professionals to deliver 24-hour care to the most seriously affected – those with tetraplegia (complete paralysis below the neck) and dependent on mechanical ventilation for survival.
According to research by patient associations, Spain currently has around 3,600 ALS sufferers, and those in advanced stages require roughly 115,000 euros annually for continuous care. They had urged that at least 184–230 million euros per year be allocated to properly fund this support.
Originally passed in the Spanish Congress on 30 October 2024, the ALS Act enshrined patients’ main demands: guaranteed 24-hour professional care, access to physiotherapists, better working conditions and training for carers, and renewed investment in research.
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El Consejo de Ministros ha aprobado hoy:
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🔸Ayudas a la actividad agraria por los incendios de 2025
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— La Moncloa (@desdelamoncloa) October 21, 2025
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