Senior citizens

Strengthening community geriatric medicine and advancing a solution to the crisis in hospital geriatric wards.

• •Working to strengthen medical services for the elderly in the health funds, including home visits by nursing and basic-medicine teams, and advancing a mechanism for quickly setting specialist appointments for senior citizens.
• •In addition, working to increase the number of hospital beds in the geriatric wards and creating an incentive system to encourage medical students to choose medical professions focused on healthy aging.
• •Working to increase the health basket, strengthen the public health system and improve the medical response in the geographic periphery, a move that will directly affect the quality of life of senior citizens.

Working to enact a state long-term-care insurance law.

• •Advancing a state long-term-care insurance law that will ensure every person who needs long-term care a proper response according to their needs, regardless of their economic ability.
• •Today the long-term-care system is cumbersome, fragmented, and makes it hard for those who need it to get the best response.
• •Instead, we will bring about a reorganization of the responses within a state framework, which will let the state take responsibility for its citizens in their hardest hour.
• •In addition, we will expand long-term-care, rehabilitation and treatment services at home and in the community, in order to allow senior citizens to keep living in their homes and surroundings as far as possible.
• •We will expand recognition and support for family members and volunteers who care for senior citizens.

Working to expand the supply of affordable sheltered housing and advancing shared housing for senior citizens.

• •Working to increase the supply of affordable sheltered housing, among other things by allocating dedicated state land for sheltered-housing projects at a controlled price, giving priority to construction ventures by government companies, and setting a quota of controlled-price housing units in new sheltered-housing projects.
• •At the same time, expanding assistance to local authorities for adapting existing apartments for accessibility and safety, to allow senior citizens who wish to do so to keep living in their homes and communities safely and independently.
• •In addition, encouraging shared housing in old age.
• •Led by local authorities, we will incentivize the development of senior-citizen communities, which will anchor the fight against loneliness and enable mutual supervision, contribution to the general society and the fulfillment of personal plans even at an advanced age.

Leading a multi-year program for a life of dignity in old age.

• •The Democrats party will change the order of priorities.
• •We will approve a five-year plan by government decision, setting targets, work plans and adequate budgeting in the fields of economic security, health and long-term care, housing, employment, welfare and community.
• •The government decision will include a duty of ongoing reporting to the Socioeconomic Cabinet, which will convene regularly to coordinate the plan and track its implementation.

Increasing the senior citizen's allowance and expanding financial assistance.

• •Restoring the allowance's linkage to the average wage in the economy, in a way that prevents its continued erosion, and working for a gradual increase of the basic allowance that will compensate for its erosion over the past two decades.
• •At the same time, working to increase income-supplement amounts for senior citizens without a pension and rent assistance for senior citizens.

Increasing senior citizens' disposable income.

• •Beyond gradually increasing the base amount of the senior citizens' allowance, the Democrats party will insist on granting an additional tax credit point to senior citizens who pay tax on their pension and will work to increase the discounts given to senior citizens on residential property tax, medicines, electricity, water and health insurance, so that senior citizens' disposable income grows by hundreds of shekels every month.

Encouraging the employment of senior citizens and expanding the option of continuing to work after retirement age.

• •Giving tax incentives and encouragement grants to employers who hire and continue to employ workers above retirement age, and expanding programs for training, placement and tailored employment for senior citizens who wish to continue working.
• •In the public sector, advancing dedicated employment tracks after retirement age, with emphasis on professions and fields where there is a labor shortage.

Significantly expanding the community envelope for senior citizens to fight loneliness.

• •Significantly expanding the "Supportive Community" program to all senior citizens living alone and reducing the monthly participation fees in the program.
• •In addition, working to double the number of day centers for the elderly operating around the country through local authorities and reducing the self-participation fees for the centers' activity.

Moving to proactive realization of rights.

• •Working to embed a strategic move in National Insurance and the other authorities responsible for senior citizens' rights for automatic granting of the rights, benefits and discounts to which senior citizens are entitled.
• •Working to operate centers for proactive and initiated realization of those rights, benefits and discounts that cannot be granted automatically without contacting the senior citizen.

Formulating a national program to combat fraud and exploitation of senior citizens.

• •In the next government we will work to formulate a national program to combat fraud and exploitation of senior citizens, which will coordinate the fight against the phenomenon.
• •At the same time, we will toughen penalties for offenses of this type and expand public awareness of the dangers in different languages and by means suited to senior citizens.
• •In addition, to improve the personal security of all Israeli citizens and of the older population in particular, we will strengthen the Blue Police and the police response to citizens: where needed, every call will receive a fast, professional and efficient response.

Requiring by law that public and commercial services be made accessible to senior citizens.

• •Entrenching in legislation the duty of government authorities, public bodies and commercial bodies (such as banks, insurance companies and communications companies) to make their services accessible to the senior-citizen public through personal service and human response, alongside developing the various digital responses.

Ensuring a life of dignity for Holocaust survivors.

• •The State of Israel owes a moral debt to the last Holocaust survivors living in Israel.
• •We will appoint a national coordinator (at ministerial rank) for all the rights and services given to Holocaust survivors by government ministries and the bodies it supports.
• •We will raise the base of the special allowance to which recognized Holocaust survivors are entitled, and give a monthly allowance to Holocaust refugees from the former USSR who currently subsist on a meager annual grant and live, some of them, below the poverty line.
• •We will increase the number of long-term-care hours to which Holocaust survivors are entitled, with emphasis on dementia patients.
• •We will make health services accessible, including accessibility and availability, shortening waits for specialist doctors and continuity of care, and help with transporting survivors to clinics.