Researchers: Tuvia Horev ¹, Rami Yosef ¹

Background: Israel’s elderly population is growing rapidly. National expenditure on LTC and the burden of LTC on households are expected to increase significantly. Israel, like other OECD countries, is facing LTC funding challenges and must cope with them.

Objectives: Analysis of individuals’ knowledge of and attitudes and behavior toward LTC; decision-makers’ attitudes; and selected countries’ public/ private LTC funding models.

Method: Mixed-method research based on a population survey (quantitative), interviews with senior decision-makers (qualitative; thematic-analysis), and relevant publications of selected countries.

Findings: The status of LTC within social security is declining. LTC is financed inter-generationally and with unsecured reserves. For those in need at a medium-to-high dependency level, public funding is low by OECD standards. The public expects more public financing and is willing to increase its social-security contributions to provide it. Commercial insurance has a high coverage rate but a recent crisis indicates the need for stricter and continued regulatory involvement.

Recommendations: Strengthen the status of LTC as part of social security. Establish a stable and independent actuarial reserve for LTC under social-security auspices. Improve eligibility tests and increase benefits for moderate-to-severe needs. Increase the public budget by means of a larger earmarked contribution but introduce additional sources as well.

Research end date: 01/2019