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Funding for Long-Term Nursing Care

5 November 2026

There are several ways to pay for long-term nursing care in a facility:

  1. Paying out of pocket.
  2. Using long-term care insurance, if available.
  3. Receiving financial assistance from public agencies (government ministries or HMOs), depending on the health and functional status of the person requiring care.
  4. Receiving care through the Ministry of Health funding program (known as a "code").

Applying for funding for long-term nursing care

You can submit the required documents to the Health Bureau serving the patient's residential address. Before admission, patients and their family members must sign financial commitment forms, except in exceptional circumstances.

How long the process takes

The processing time depends, among other factors, on how quickly the required documents are submitted.

Rejection of an application for admission

An application may be rejected if the classification committee determines that the patient is not suitable for long-term nursing care or care for people with cognitive impairment. You can appeal the decision.

Long-term care benefit

Admission to a long-term nursing care facility ends entitlement to the long-term care benefit.

Hospitalization

Hospitalization or taking leave from the facility may affect the amount of the monthly contribution.

There are several ways to pay for nursing care in a facility:

  • Private payment.

  • Funding through long-term care insurance, if available.

  • Financial assistance from public agencies (government ministries or HMOs), depending on the health and functional status of the person being considered for admission.

  • Agreement with the Ministry of Health (funding code).

Using a Ministry of Health funding code

When you contact or visit a nursing care facility, you should check whether the facility has an agreement with the Ministry of Health. This means checking whether the Ministry of Health can help cover the cost of care at the facility through a funding code.

An agreement with the Ministry of Health allows the family to apply for financial assistance (a funding code) from the Ministry of Health.

Read all the details here

Important to know

Important to know

  • Some private facilities are licensed but do not accept residents under the Ministry of Health funding program (code). Therefore, families cannot apply for financial assistance to cover the cost of hospitalization at these facilities.
  • A code can be obtained at any stage, including for patients who initially enter a participating facility as private-paying patients.
  • A code is not issued for a specific facility. Patients may transfer from one participating facility to another at any stage, and their code approval transfers with them to the new facility.
  • To obtain a code, you must submit an application for financial assistance for nursing care hospitalization at a Health Bureau or on the Ministry of Health website.
  • If your family member is staying in a nursing care facility, you may be entitled to an income tax credit. Learn more about this tax credit.

To make things clearer, we have summarized the funding sources for departments and facilities that may be suitable for your family member, depending on their level of functioning. For each type of facility, we have explained how the cost of care can be covered.

For more information about the definitions of functional levels, click here.

Functional level Suitable facility and department Who pays
Independent

Assisted living

Housing clusters

No need for nursing care or supervision

 

Private funding

Funding from the Ministry of Construction and Housing or the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration for older adults who lack housing and have limited financial resources
Frail Residential care home for older adults, frail care department

Private funding or partial funding from the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, with a contribution from the patient or family (through the local authority's social services department)
Nursing care Nursing care department

Private funding (paid by the family or through long-term care insurance) or partial funding from the Ministry of Health, with a contribution from the patient and their family.

(Through the regional Health Bureau)
Cognitive impairment Department for people with cognitive impairment Funding from the HMO, with a contribution from the patient, or funding from the family
Complex nursing care  Supportive complex nursing care department Funding from the HMO, with no out-of-pocket contribution
Inpatient medical rehabilitation

Geriatric rehabilitation departments in geriatric hospitals

Rehabilitation departments in rehabilitation hospitals

 Funding from the HMO, with no out-of-pocket contribution
Long-term mechanical ventilation   Funding from the HMO, with no out-of-pocket contribution

HMO Inquiries

Questions and answers about financing long-term nursing care

You can submit your application to the Health Bureau nearest you (based on the address listed on the patient's ID card appendix). You can bring the documents directly to the Health Bureau during office hours or send them by fax, email, or mail, using the contact information on the Health Bureau's website.

Commitment to payment

Near the end of the process, after each family member's required contribution has been determined, it is important to sign the commitment to payment in one of the following ways:

  • At the Health Bureau where the application was processed.
  • At another Health Bureau, in coordination with the Health Bureau where the application was processed.
  • In the presence of a private attorney, who must certify the signature. You can obtain a commitment form from the coordinator at the relevant Health Bureau and submit the signed forms to that bureau.

Yes. Any family member, or all family members together, may appeal the amount of their required contribution. The appeal must be submitted in writing to a social worker at the Health Bureau in the patient's area of residence, along with a letter explaining the reasons for the appeal and supporting documents. The application, together with the social worker's recommendation, will be forwarded in writing to the appropriate appeals committee (district or national).

As a general rule, each family member is required to sign the commitment forms.

Only in exceptional circumstances may a patient be referred for admission before the commitment forms and direct debit authorizations have been signed. This decision is at the discretion of the district or subdistrict physician or the district geriatrician.

Important to know:

  • The family will be required to pay its share of the costs from the beginning of the patient's stay, and payment will be collected retroactively.
  • If the outstanding amount is not paid, debt collection measures will be taken.

Yes. The long-term care benefit is available only to people who live at home or in assisted living facilities.

The required contribution from patients and their family members will be reduced if the patient is hospitalized or takes leave from a nursing care facility funded by the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Health makes a partial payment to the geriatric facility under a "bed reservation" agreement. This is an amount determined by the Ministry of Health that the facility receives to reserve a bed while a resident is hospitalized. Under this agreement, the facility must reserve the patient's place for at least 30 consecutive days.