Home-care benefits, subsidised nursing placement and complex nursing are separate funding routes in Israel. Start with the person’s medical and functional classification, where they will actually live and who pays for that setting. A benefit paid at home does not automatically finance every care-home bed.
This guide explains the National Insurance long-term-care application and how it differs from the Health Ministry nursing code, Welfare services and health-fund complex nursing. For the wider housing choices, see senior living options. Welfare disability placement is explained separately in the supported-housing guide.
Choose the funding route before comparing beds
| Situation | Starting point | Separate assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Help with daily activities or qualifying supervision at home | National Insurance long-term-care benefit | Residence, retirement age, income, care needs, setting and overlapping benefits |
| Nursing or cognitive-impairment institutional placement | Health Ministry nursing-code process | Medical/function classification and patient/family financial contribution |
| Complex nursing | The person’s health fund | Medical classification, authorisation and any applicable copayment |
| Independent or frail-person Welfare setting | Local social services and the responsible Welfare route | Setting, placement and funding rules; not automatically a Health Ministry code |
Ask the clinician or discharge team to state the classification and recommended setting in writing. Do not select a payer simply from the facility’s marketing name. A building can contain different departments with different licences and funding arrangements.
National Insurance: who can apply?
The official eligibility page requires Israeli residence and retirement age, the applicable income test, substantial help with daily activities or qualifying supervision, an eligible living arrangement and compliance with rules on overlapping government benefits. The authority assesses the actual case. A diagnosis alone does not establish a care level.
On overlapping benefits, the National Insurance Institute’s eligibility page as of 12 November 2026 says that a person who receives an attendance allowance for persons with severe disabilities, a Treasury benefit for personal care or supervision, or a Ministry of Defense help from others or accompaniment advantage must choose between that benefit and the long-term care benefit. A Ministry of Defense special needs increment can be received together with the long-term care benefit.
Activities assessed include dressing, washing, eating, handling personal needs and moving within the home. The supervision route also has specific medical and functional conditions. Describe what help is needed in practice, how often and what happens without assistance, using current medical records and an accurate account of daily life.
A person who became resident only after retirement age may still qualify under the specific immigration conditions on the official page. Do not assume that retirement-age arrival is either an automatic bar or an automatic approval. Ask National Insurance to check the residence and immigration record.
The income test is separate from care needs
National Insurance assesses the claimant’s and spouse’s relevant income. Some income is counted and some is excluded under the rules. The following monthly bands are the official table effective from 1 April 2026, reviewed on 1 November 2026. Passing the full-benefit band does not establish all the other conditions or determine the care level.
| Household | Full-benefit income band | Partial-benefit band |
|---|---|---|
| Single | Up to ILS 13,769 | Above that, up to ILS 20,654 |
| Couple | Up to ILS 20,654 | Above that, up to ILS 30,980 |
In the partial-income band, the benefit is reduced by 50%. Above the relevant upper band there is no entitlement under this test. Ask which income is assessed, the period used and any exclusions before comparing your bank deposits with the table. If both spouses need nursing assistance, the official page describes a separate calculation dividing their combined income between them for the individual test; obtain that calculation for each claim.
A care home does not answer the eligibility question by itself
Living at home or in sheltered housing can fit the setting condition, subject to all other requirements. For institutional residents, the actual department, supervision and funding matter. National Insurance lists qualifying independent/frail departments under Welfare supervision and specified predominantly self-funded Welfare settings.
It excludes the listed nursing, complex-nursing, cognitive-impairment, prolonged-ventilation and Health Ministry rehabilitation departments, and cases where a public body pays most maintenance costs. Ask National Insurance to assess the named department and payer, rather than relying on a general assurance that all residents of a retirement home qualify.
An existing recipient moving into a home should submit the official confirmation of institutional residence so continuation can be checked. Report a move or a funding change. Do not assume the home-care award continues unchanged after admission.
Submitting the long-term-care application
The official claim is form 2600. Use the National Insurance claim service for the current form and submission instructions. Prepare the medical summary, functional information, relevant income evidence and documents about the living arrangement requested by the form. Keep copies and proof of submission.
If you are in hospital or expecting admission within the next month, the eligibility page permits an immediate claim and asks for an interim medical summary from the hospital. A current recipient admitted to a general hospital can continue receiving the benefit there only during the first 30 days under the published rule. That does not mean every hospital department or later institutional placement follows the same rule.
Ask how the care-needs assessment will be conducted, provide the relevant evidence and correct any factual omission promptly. If needs change, use the official reassessment route. If you disagree with a decision, obtain the reasons and the current review or appeal instructions; do not assume an old brochure’s deadline applies to every type of challenge.
As of 12 November 2026, National Insurance says an appeal to its Advisory Commission goes to the local branch handling the claim and must be filed within 60 days of receiving the ruling notification. It also lists a Regional Labor Court as an appeal route and states no deadline for that route on its appeal page, so check the deadline for that route on the decision itself.
Services, cash and employing a caregiver
Whether care is arranged at home or in a residential setting decides which parts of the system you deal with. The guide to care and nursing arrangements in Israel covers that practical side, including foreign caregiver permits, long-term-care insurance and dementia care; this page stays with how the funding decision itself is made.
An approved award can involve services and, where conditions permit, cash or a combination. The available choice depends on the assessed level and the rules for that option. Approval does not itself secure a suitable worker, a foreign-worker employment permit or a lawful employment arrangement.
On its pages checked on 12 November 2026, the National Insurance Institute lists amounts effective 1 August 2026. At Level 1 a recipient can take the benefit in cash at NIS 1,708 a month, or exchange some care hours for cash, with each care hour worth NIS 311 a month. At Levels 2 to 6 a recipient can exchange up to 4 weekly hours for cash, or a third of the hours with the approval of a National Insurance social worker, and each care hour is worth NIS 248 a month. A recipient whose benefit is reduced because of income is entitled to half the benefit in every option. Amounts are updated, so check the current figures with National Insurance.
Before choosing, compare the approved service package with the actual support needed throughout the week. Ask who supplies the service, which costs remain with the household and how an absence, hospital admission or change of caregiver is reported. Check separate employment and permit obligations before hiring.
National Insurance sets conditions for receiving the whole benefit in cash by a recipient who employs a full-time caregiver. The caregiver must work at least 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, must not be a family member and must be paid under a written contract. An employer of a foreign worker also needs a Population and Immigration Authority permit and a certificate assigning that worker to the employer, and the worker must be in Israel legally.
Health Ministry nursing code: two assessments
The Health Ministry’s code service describes two stages: determining medical and functional suitability for nursing or cognitive-impairment placement, then calculating the patient’s and family members’ participation in funding. A medical recommendation is not the same as the completed financial approval.
The Ministry provides an online application and a paper route through the regional health bureau’s chronic-diseases department. Obtain the current document list and keep the file complete. Ask for the approved contribution, eligible facility and payment arrangement before signing a private admission agreement. No fixed household contribution is established by this guide.
Complex nursing and Welfare placements
Complex nursing is a separate health-fund responsibility subject to medical authorisation and applicable participation. Ask the fund to confirm the classification, authorised department and terms. A nursing-code approval should not be assumed to replace the fund’s decision for complex care.
For independent or frail-person assistance through Welfare, begin with local social services and establish the relevant assessment and placement route. Supported housing for a person with a disability, mental-health rehabilitation and a nursing placement should not be treated as interchangeable programmes.
Rehabilitation equipment for care at home
Equipment funding is separate from a home-care award or nursing placement. The Health Ministry’s July 2026 guidance describes possible health-fund participation in rehabilitation and mobility aids for qualifying permanent physical disability. It excludes temporary disability under this route and people eligible through another responsible body. Applicable copayments follow the Ministry price list.
Start with your health fund’s family doctor or nursing team. Ask which assessment, device, approval, copayment and supply arrangement apply before buying or adapting the room. This general route does not establish that every special bed or device is covered, free or available immediately. Coordinate the approved equipment with access, room layout and the care plan.
Keep decisions linked to the housing plan
- Record the classification, department, payer and date of each approval.
- Check the household’s contribution and uncovered costs.
- Confirm the actual place and admission arrangements separately from eligibility.
- Report changes in income, care needs, residence or other benefits.
- Keep an appeal or reassessment request tied to the exact decision and its instructions.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm with a licensed professional. Current eligibility and the contribution calculation should be confirmed with National Insurance, the Health Ministry, the health fund or social services as appropriate.
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