This portal contains information about the various situations in which the state provides assistance for institutional arrangements (nursing homes).
Upon reaching retirement age, a person is eligible to receive funding assistance for an institutional arrangement (nursing home) through the state. Assistance is provided as long as the individual requesting it meets certain criteria, including level of functioning and income. One of three possible Israeli government bodies is responsibility for such arrangements, depending on the functional condition of the individual for whom placement is required:
- The Ministry of Health is responsible for long-term care and mentally frail seniors.
- The Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services is responsible for the elderly who are defined as independent or physically frail.
- Health plans are responsible for the elderly who are defined as requiring complex long-term care.
Important: In order to place an elderly person in a nursing home, his/her consent, or the consent of his/her legal guardian is required.
Definitions
Types of Institutional Arrangements
Additional Information
- Ministry of Health Assistance in Paying for Hospitalization of Nursing and Mentally Frail Patients on the Ministry of Health's English website
- Information regarding nursing homes and public assisted living on the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services website
- Information about nursing homes and sheltered housing on the Reut - Mishpacha Metapelet website
- Nursing homes, sheltered housing and assisted living on the Eshelnet (JDC-Israel) website
- Right to vote in local elections in elderly centers and sheltered senior housing
- Placement of a cold water cooler in public buildings
Aid organizations
- For a comprehensive listing of organizations that help senior citizens and the elderly, click here.
- For a comprehensive categorized listing of healthcare organizations offering assistance and support, click here.
- For a comprehensive categorized listing of aid organizations offering assistance and support for people with disabilities, click here.
Government agencies
- The Ministry of Health
- The Geriatric Department on the Ministry of Health website.
- The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services
- Click here for a full list of government agencies responsible for issues related to old age and aging
- Main government agencies:
| Government Agency | Website | Rights and Areas of Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| *8840 Ministry for Social Equality - Hotline for Public Inquiries | Ministry for Social Equality website | The *8840 hotline run by the Ministry for Social Equality gives the elderly a central address to direct all of their questions, provide information regarding rights, services and benefits entitled to the elderly. It also helps them actualize these rights. |
| *6050 hotlines - The National Insurance Institute | Senior Citizens' Rights on the National Insurance Institute's website. | Rights to various allowances given based on age and economic situation. |
| *9696 hotline - The National Insurance Institute's Call Center for Senior Citizen Counseling Services | Senior Citizens' Rights on the National Insurance Institute's website. | Free aid provided through counseling services for senior citizens and the call center |
| The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services |
Senior Citizens on the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services website | Funding of Nursing Homes for independent and frail seniors. Various services are also provided within the community. |
| The Ministry of Health | Senior Health on the Ministry of Health website. | Health Insurance and assistance for those suffering from age related health problems. |
| *5442 The Ministry of Housing and Construction Call Center | The Ministry of Construction and Housing website | Housing Assistance and Problem Solving for Senior Citizens |
| Equal Employment Opportunities Commission- 02-6662701 | Equal Employment Opportunities Commission website] | The commission responsible for enforcing equality in the workplace and for handling cases of prohibited discrimination. |
| The Population and Immigration Authority - *3450 | Population and Immigration Authority website | Treatment of foreign workers, responsible for giving permits for the employment of foreign workers, managing the financial deposits that employers of foreign workers are required to deposit, oversight of the entrance and exit of foreign workers into Israel, issuing a death certificate, and updating the Population authority. |
Court Rulings
- The operator of a sheltered housing facility is not responsible if an independent tenant slips and falls in his/her own room
- Someone who lived with his parents in a sheltered housing facility for the elderly cannot be recognized as a successive tenant
Laws & Regulations
- The Sheltered Housing Law, 5772-2012
- The Supervision of Institutional Residences Law
- The National Health Insurance Law
Additional publications
- EshelNet website: Rights in institutional frameworks for the elderly
Credits
- Original translation performed by The Shira Pransky Project as part of a grant from The Fellowship Fund.