Rights of Alzheimer's and Dementia Patients
Dealing with Alzheimer's in the family? Exercising rights can help with treatment!
If you need assistance caring for a person with Alzheimer's at home, you can use the National Insurance long-term care benefit if the person is after retirement age (in the event that the patient is before retirement age, you can contact the National Insurance to receive a disability benefit and special services).
The National Insurance Long-Term Care Law provides a long-term care benefit to residents of retirement age who greatly need the help of another person in performing daily activities (dressing, bathing, eating, etc.), or who need supervision at home for their safety and the safety of those around them.
If a patient has been approved for a nursing care allowance, it can be used to receive help from a caregiver in the person's home, for the person's visit to a day center, etc. Later, if the person needs care and supervision 24 hours a day, the allowance can be used to help finance a foreign worker.
In an advanced stage of the disease, you may decide that the most appropriate solution for you is to hospitalize your family member in an appropriate institution. Every citizen and resident of Israel is entitled to apply to the District Health Bureau in their place of residence and receive assistance in financing nursing home hospitalization (provided that they meet certain criteria).
First steps in exercising rights with National Insurance and other authorities
- Cognitive status assessment – It should be examined, depending on the stage of the disease, whether the person is cognitively able to handle his or her own affairs, including signing documents, giving medical consents, etc. A medical diagnosis by a specialist doctor will help with this matter, and consideration should be given to drawing up a durable power of attorney at an early stage of the disease.
- Collection of medical documents – Collect all relevant medical documents: documents from the health insurance fund, hospitals, consultations and examinations with private doctors, and various institutions such as National Insurance.
- Collecting insurance documents – Collect the various insurance policies in which the person is insured (nursing care, serious illnesses, loss of work capacity, etc.).
Today, most of the forms required to exercise rights are accessible online on various websites:
- Exercise of rights against Social Security – General disability, work injuries, nursing care sector.
- Realization against State authorities – Ministry of Health – Mobility Division. Income Tax – Exemption eligibility.
- Realization against Private insurance companies – Long-term care insurance and others.
If you need assistance with the authorities, Amda 's Family Envelope Service can assist you in managing your patient's case.
Sources of information on exercising rights in cases of dementia
Below are several recommended sources of information and guides on the subject of exercising rights:
- Rights Exercise Section – On EMDA's blog
- The Complete Guide to the Rights of People with Alzheimer's (Dementia) – Attorney Rafael Almog
- Video guide on the topic: Rights of Alzheimer's and Dementia Patients
- Information about "Temporary decision maker for medical matters״