The long-term care benefit is a basic right for anyone of retirement age who struggles with daily activities but wants to continue living in their own home.
A patient living in a long-term care institution is eligible for a long-term care benefit only if they are in a ward for independent or mentally frail people.
The benefit is granted based on criteria relating to the patient’s degree of dependency and functional independence and according to the income the patient and their spouse receive from benefits and other sources of income. Those whose income exceeds NIS 15,410 per month for individuals or NIS 23,114 per month for couples are not eligible for any long-term care benefit.
A long-term care assessor from the National Insurance Institute will visit the applicant’s home and perform a functioning capacity examination to determine their benefit rank/level on a scale of 1-6, where the lowest rank is 1 and the highest is 6.
A long-term care benefit may be received in cash, services or as a combination of both, based on the benefit level granted to the patient
- In cash, e.g., to employ a private caregiver.
- In services, as care hours with a caregiver from the National Insurance Institute, in keeping with the number of care hours granted to the patient by the NII.
The higher the benefit rank, the more care hours or cash payments the patient is entitled to.
*Those interested in employing a foreign caregiver may exchange care hours for cash payments. Find more information on the Employment of a Foreign Worker page.
The current maximum monthly benefit that can be received according to level of entitlement (for those who do not wish to receive any care hours with a certified caregiver from the National Insurance Institute):
- Level of Entitlement 1: NIS 1,407
- Level of Entitlement 2: NIS 2,047
- Level of Entitlement 3: NIS 3,456
- Level of Entitlement 4: NIS 3,275
- Level of Entitlement 5: NIS 3,889
- Level of Entitlement 6: NIS 4,912
More information about the ranks/levels and entitlement at each rank/level can be found here on the National Insurance Institute website.
What to include in the request for a long-term care benefit
- Long-term care benefit claim form (download the form here in Hebrew).
- Up-to-date medical documents (summary of medical records, medications, summary of hospitalizations in the last three months, etc.).
- Proof of income for both the applicant and their spouse over the previous three months (it is not necessary to declare income from other National Insurance Institute benefits or from a Holocaust survivor’s benefit).
- Power of attorney and guardianship order (if the person submitting the claim is a guardian).
- Certificate of blindness if applicable.
More details about conditions of entitlement and the process of submitting the claim can be found here on the National Insurance Institute website.
The claim and documents can be submitted in one of the following ways:
- By filling out the online claim form on the National Insurance Institute website and attaching the relevant documents.
- By filling out a claim form by hand (the form can be downloaded from the link to the National Insurance Institute website) and sending it together with the documents via the National Insurance Institute website or via mail, fax or the service box of a local National Insurance Institute branch.
- Find the address of your nearest branch here.
After submitting the claim
After submitting the claim, if you meet the basic conditions of entitlement, your claim will be reviewed in accordance with the medical documentation, and an assessor will contact you to schedule a home visit in order to ascertain your functioning capacity in your living environment. In specific cases, it may be possible to determine the entitlement based on medical documents alone, without the need for an assessor’s verification.
If the applicant is over the age of 90, you can choose to have the functioning capacity examination performed by a geriatrician instead of a long-term care assessor from the NII.
The long-term care assessor will perform the dependency assessment test and functional capacity examination using the ADL (activities of daily living) test.
This test checks six components of functional independence:
- Getting up and sitting down
- Getting dressed and undressed
- Bathing
- Eating and drinking
- Continence — controlling bladder and bowels
- Mobility
People unable to perform four of these tasks are eligible for the full long-term care benefit, and people unable to perform just three of the tasks are eligible for half the benefit. People unable to perform two or fewer of the tasks are not eligible for any benefit.
Someone who cannot independently perform at least 50% of one of the tasks is considered unable to perform 100% of the task.
Appealing the decision
It is possible to appeal the National Insurance Institute’s decision regarding the benefit level determined. Furthermore, if the patient’s health has deteriorated over the years, a request for the patient’s condition to be reassessed may be submitted. More information can be found here.
Receiving the benefit while hospitalized
Those who choose to live in a long-term care institution (not in in a ward for independent or mentally frail patients), should contact the nearest health bureau to check the degree of financial assistance to which they are entitled. This will be assessed individually according to the financial situation of each patient.
Those hospitalized in a general hospital (which is not a long-term care institution, a rehabilitation hospital, or designated for patients with a mental illness) for a brief period that does not exceed 30 days, will continue to receive the benefit as usual. After 30 days, the benefit will be frozen and automatically reinstated upon discharge from the hospital, unless there is a need for inpatient rehabilitation or hospitalization in a long-term care institution.
More information about financial support for hospitalization and treatment for long-term care patients/mentally frail patients can be found in the following links to the Ministry of Health website:
- Apply for Financial Support for Hospital Nursing Care or Hospitalization Due to a Mental Illness
- Financial support for hospitalization for a chronically ill long-term care patient (in Hebrew)
More information and help with accessing long-term care and medical rights from your insurance company can be found here on the Mamesh website (in Hebrew).
Important! The long-term care benefit is not considered income and thus does not affect entitlement to other benefits.
