"Subscription to the 65+ Health Plan can be done right away, at the participating pharmacies in Lisbon or online, and the citizens covered can benefit from the services from January 2023", said the municipality, in a statement, noting that information and registration are available on the website: 65mais.lisboa.pt.

The announcement of the start of the registration process for the free health plan “Lisboa 65+” takes place one day after the approval of the council’s proposal by the Lisbon Municipal Assembly.

Presented by the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (PSD), who governs without an absolute majority, the health plan proposal “Lisboa 65+” was made possible by municipal deputies, with BE, Livre, PEV, PCP and Daniela Serralha, from the political movement Citizens for Lisbon (elected by the PS/Livre coalition) and the abstention of PS and Liberal Initiative (IL). The PSD, PAN, MPT, PPM, Aliança, CDS-PP and Chega municipal groups voted in favour of the health plan.

According to the Lisbon City Council, the health plan “covers 130,000 people from Lisbon over the age of 65 who will benefit, free of charge, from teleconsultations 24 hours a day, medical assistance at home in case of need and ambulance transport”.

The most vulnerable citizens of Lisbon, namely around 5,000 citizens benefiting from the solidarity supplement for the elderly, can benefit from “an even more reinforced range of services”, in partnership with Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, with free access to consultations of various specialties, such as ophthalmology and stomatology, including the free allocation of glasses and dental prostheses, as well as full reimbursement of medicines, among other social supports.

According to the mayor of Lisbon, this health plan aims to be a way for the municipality “to be present at times when people really need it and when they do not find an answer”.

“Health, being a priority sector, was a commitment I made to the people of Lisbon from the beginning”, said the social democrat Carlos Moedas, quoted in the communiqué from the Lisbon Chamber, recalling that the health plan was one of the electoral promises of the “Novos Tempos” coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) in the 2021 municipal elections.

The health plan, which should be implemented in 2023, 2024 and 2025, is budgeted at around 1.5 million euros per year, of which 600 thousand euros will be used to ensure teleconsultation and home care services.