The Israeli long-term care insurance law: selected issues in providing home care services to the frail elderly
Hillel Schmid PhD,
Corresponding Author
Hillel Schmid PhD
The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Hillel Schmid The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Mt. Scopus 91905, Jerusalem Israel. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorHillel Schmid PhD,
Corresponding Author
Hillel Schmid PhD
The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Hillel Schmid The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Mt. Scopus 91905, Jerusalem Israel. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
The paper describes and analyses selected issues related to the provision of home care services to frail elderly people following the Israeli Long-Term Care Insurance Law (1988). The goals and principles of the Law, which mandates the provision of home care services to frail elderly people, are presented. The paper also evaluates its contribution toward enhancing the well-being of elderly clients. Several major dilemmas that arose following implementation of the Law are analysed and evaluated in comparison with other countries that have enacted and implemented similar laws. These dilemmas are community vs institutional care; services in kind vs monetary allowances; service provision through contracting out with nongovernmental agencies; unstable and unskilled labour force; and service quality. Finally, policy implications are discussed, mainly in the following areas: investment in human resources as a condition for achieving high service quality, and the need for coordination between the agencies that provide long-term care services to elderly people.
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