National Insurance Announces Expanded Health Coverage for Victims of Hostile Acts

The National Insurance Institute announced new regulations today (Thursday) aimed at expanding the state's participation in supplementary health insurance for victims of hostile acts. The move is intended to close a budgetary gap that emerged over the past year and to preserve the principle of equality between victims of hostile acts and IDF disabled veterans treated by the Defense Ministry.

For years, the National Insurance Institute has maintained a clear position calling for the full equalization of the conditions of victims of hostile acts with those of IDF disabled veterans, both in the level of allowances and benefits and in rehabilitation processes. As part of this policy, several years ago the benefits were expanded to include the same level of state participation in the cost of life insurance, long-term care insurance and supplementary health insurance for both groups.

The gap that led to the need for the current amendment arose after a tender held by the Defense Ministry about a year ago for life insurance. The new tender increased the state's share of the monthly expense for IDF disabled veterans, which automatically created a disadvantage for victims of hostile acts, since the amount set for them under the old regulations was no longer enough to cover the updated cost. To correct this distortion, the National Insurance Institute is now publishing a specific amendment to the regulations, which will state that the amount financed for supplementary health insurance for victims of hostile acts will be exactly the same as the amount financed by the Defense Ministry.

A race against time for Knesset approval

The amendment was published for public comment for only seven days, in an effort to move as quickly as possible to bring the regulations for approval by the Labor and Welfare Committee during the current Knesset session. "This is a fair, humane and values-based amendment," the National Insurance Institute said when the regulations were published. "This move ensures full equality between populations that were harmed through no fault of their own, and also ensures the continued eligibility and comprehensive support for them."