Realising medical rights with the NII
— what matters in 2026

Many people in Israel are entitled to allowances, compensation and a range of benefits — but in practice never claim the full extent of what is theirs. The reason is usually a lack of knowledge, the weight of the bureaucracy, difficulty dealing with medical committees, or simply not understanding how the system works.

Whether it is PTSD, a medical disability, an injury following a hostile action, a chronic illness or a loss of earning capacity — it is important to understand what rights exist and what the right way to proceed is. In this article we have gathered the full picture: what rights exist, how the system decides who qualifies, what mistakes block people along the way, and how to start properly.

What rights are available?

The rights vary according to the medical condition and the impairment to functioning. These are the main ones:

• A general disability allowance — a monthly allowance for people whose medical or psychological condition affects their earning capacity. Determined in two stages: medical disability percentages and a degree of incapacity for work.
• Benefits for hostile-action casualties — a dedicated and more favourable route for people injured, physically or psychologically, in a hostile action or a war event.
• An income tax exemption — people with a high disability may be entitled to a significant exemption from tax on their income.
• Vocational rehabilitation — funding for study or retraining for people whose career path was disrupted by the injury.
• Reimbursement of medical expenses — treatment, medication, travel and medical equipment, according to the route of recognition.
• Mobility and long-term care allowances — for people with a mobility limitation or who need help with day-to-day functioning.
• Compensation from insurance companies — private policies, personal accident and health insurance may pay out in parallel.
• Loss of earning capacity — from pension funds and managers’ insurance, in addition to National Insurance entitlements.

An important point: these rights do not necessarily exclude one another. One person can be entitled at the same time to a National Insurance allowance, a tax exemption and a payout from private insurance — and each of those is assessed and claimed separately, from a different body. Precisely for that reason, a full mapping of entitlement is the first and most important step.

PTSD and recognition by the National Insurance Institute

PTSD is a psychological injury that may appear after traumatic events such as:

• Military or reserve service
• Terror attacks and hostile-action events
• Road accidents
• Assaults
• Serious medical events
• Prolonged trauma

The symptoms may include anxiety, sleep difficulties, flashbacks, difficulty functioning day to day, social avoidance and damage to the ability to work. It is important to know that the symptoms do not have to appear immediately — sometimes they erupt months or even years after the event, and entitlement still exists then.

In many cases recognition of a psychological disability is available even where there is no visible physical injury.

A psychological injury is assessed under dedicated sections of the official Schedule of Impairments, exactly like a physical one. Because it cannot be “seen” on an image or in an examination, it is the medical documentation — a psychiatric assessment, treatment summaries and continuity of treatment — that determines the outcome. We have expanded on this in a dedicated article: depression, anxiety and PTSD — recognition and rights.

How is entitlement determined? Disability percentages and degree of incapacity

To understand the process, it helps to know the two central concepts:

• Medical disability percentages — a numerical expression of the severity of the impairment, set by a medical committee under an official schedule of impairments. Where there are several impairments, they are combined using a special weighted calculation (rather than simply added together).
• Degree of incapacity — in a general disability claim, a further stage examining how far the impairment prevents you from working and earning a living. The level of the allowance derives from it.

The practical meaning: two people with the same diagnosis can receive completely different outcomes — depending on the quality of the documentation and how the case is presented. For the full guide: disability percentages — how are they set and what affects them?

Why does it matter to arrive at a medical committee prepared?

One of the most common mistakes is filing a claim without proper preparation. The medical committee examines:

• Medical records
• Professional opinions
• Continuity of treatment
• The effect on day-to-day functioning
• The ability to work and earn

How the case and the documents are presented can significantly affect the disability percentages set. The committee knows you only through what is put before it in those few minutes — a missing document, too general a description of the difficulty, or a tendency to “hold it together” and play the problem down, can cost expensive percentage points.

A few golden rules for preparation: arrive with full and up-to-date documentation, describe the difficult day rather than the good one, give concrete examples from daily functioning, and do not leave out any impairment — the secondary ones enter the calculation too.

Received a negative answer? There is a right of appeal

A refusal or a low percentage is not the end of the road. Almost every National Insurance decision can be appealed — before a medical appeals committee or in other forums — and in many cases it is the appeal stage that changes the outcome, especially when new documentation and a supporting opinion are added.

The most critical thing: the appeal has a limited deadline set out in the decision letter, and missing it can block the right. All the details are in the guide: appealing a National Insurance decision — what to do after a refusal.

The rights of hostile-action casualties

Hostile-action casualties may be entitled to a wide range of benefits, including:

• Monthly benefits
• Medical and psychological treatment
• Reimbursement of expenses
• Vocational rehabilitation
• Entitlements for family members in certain cases

In cases of psychological injury or PTSD there are sometimes further entitlements within the rehabilitation process.

It is important to understand that the hostile-action casualty route differs from the general disability route — the benefits there derive directly from the disability percentages (with no incapacity stage), and it includes a broader package of entitlements. Since the events of the war, people injured psychologically alone — through exposure to an event, to sirens or to evacuation — may also be recognised as hostile-action casualties. If you are unsure which route you belong to, that is exactly one of the questions worth clarifying in a professional eligibility check.

Beyond the allowance — the accompanying benefits

Recognition of a disability opens the door to a series of benefits many people are unaware of: discounts on municipal tax and electricity, benefits in education, tax exemptions and concessions, housing assistance and more. No single body brings them all together in one place, and each benefit is assessed by the relevant authority — we have set out the full map in our article: additional benefits and rights for people with disabilities.

Why do people not claim their rights?

Although many rights exist, in practice many people never come forward, because of:

• A lack of knowledge — they simply do not know the right exists, or assume “it is not for me”.
• Psychological difficulty and fear of the system — especially for people living with a psychological injury, which itself makes taking the initiative and dealing with forms harder.
• Complex bureaucracy — forms, committees, documents and deadlines — a system in which it is easy to get lost.
• Missing documents — incomplete or disorganised medical records, which put people off starting.
• Lack of time — dealing with it is put off again and again, while the entitlements sit waiting.

The result: money and benefits that people are entitled to by law are simply never claimed. Which is a shame — because every one of these barriers is solvable, whether by getting organised or by professional support that takes the bureaucracy on for you.

How do you start?

The first stage is a proper eligibility check, which includes:

• Examining the medical situation — mapping every impairment, physical and psychological, and not just the main one.
• Reviewing the medical records — collecting and organising assessments, treatment summaries and up-to-date tests.
• Identifying possible entitlements — with the National Insurance Institute, the tax authority, private insurers and other bodies.
• Building an orderly file — filing correctly on the right route, with all the supporting documentation.
• Preparing for medical committees — knowing in advance what to expect, what to present and how to describe the functional impact.

At Yad Otefet we support people throughout the process — from the first check through to recognition. Managing the process properly can significantly affect the chances of success.

In summary

Realising medical rights is a process that can directly affect the financial stability and quality of life of people living with a medical or psychological impairment. The central principles we have seen: the rights are many and varied and sometimes cumulative; decisions are made on what is put before the committee — which makes documentation and preparation critical; a refusal is not the end of the road; and people whose event took place years ago can still apply.

In many cases people are unaware of what is theirs — which is why it is important to have a professional check and to understand what can be claimed. We are here to help.