Have you been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease? First steps in exercising rights
Parkinson's is a serious chronic neurological disease, which gradually damages the nervous system, leads to a continuous deterioration in motor abilities, and in advanced stages may even damage the cognitive skills of those affected by it. You can learn to live alongside the disease, but no less important, you should learn the rights that come with it.
Parkinson's is a severe neurological disease that causes a gradual impairment of body movements, and is mainly manifested by involuntary tremors of the limbs, especially the palms of the hands (and this also in a state of rest, although the tremors increase in situations of stress and fatigue), muscle stiffness, slowing down and decrease in movement, impaired balance and instability when walk. The disease worsens slowly, and over time it also gradually affects the ability to speak, the ability to concentrate, the ability to remember, the ability to understand and judge, and the mood, so that it also affects the cognitive and mental function of those affected by it, and not only the motor function. As the disease progresses, it causes a severe decrease in the ability to function independently, and may turn the person suffering from it into a person who needs more and more help from others.
Dealing with the disease is not easy and even complex, but it is possible and you learn to live alongside it and the limitations that follow, with great respect. However, it is no less important to learn what rights you, or your loved one, are entitled to due to the illness, and to insist on receiving them. A person with Parkinson's may be entitled to many rights from the state institutions, including, among other things, in the field of general disability, special services, mobility and exemption from income tax, as well as rights against insurance corporations in the event that appropriate insurance coverage is purchased. For the sake of good order, I will make it clear right now, that the disease in itself does not entitle rights, but the limitations and symptoms caused by it.
At this point, a patient may encounter the opacity of the various systems and endless bureaucracy. The procedure of exercising the rights is not easy, but it is possible. One important thing should be clear right now - in any case of refusal or rejection by the state institutions or the insurance corporations, do not say despair.
In the framework of this short article, I will review the first steps in exercising the rights, and the actions that can and should be carried out in the first stages, before starting the exercise of the rights, in order to guarantee your rights and allow you and your loved ones to conduct themselves in an easy and safe manner.
Worry about tomorrow and make a lasting power of attorney
As mentioned, Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disease that develops slowly over the years, and which in its early stages mainly damages the motor function of the person suffering from it, but later it may also damage his cognitive function, and make it very difficult for the patient to take care of his personal, health or financial affairs.
A legal tool, relatively new, known as the "enduring power of attorney", which was added to the Legal Training and Guardianship Law in 2016, allows any person of legal age to determine ahead of time who will be the one entrusted with their personal, health and financial future. The appointor has many options that do not exist in other legal instruments, including the ability to determine under what circumstances the power of attorney will come into effect, what will be the scope of authority of the power of attorney and who will be the person who will supervise the power of attorney. Apart from the many possibilities that exist in this legal tool, it is important to understand that this is a significant step on the part of the Israeli legislator designed to reduce the harm to individual autonomy, compared to other legal tools such as the institution of guardianship.
Therefore, it is recommended that those suffering from Parkinson's, while they are clear and cognitively competent to sign, examine in the first stages the possibility of making a lasting power of attorney.
It is possible to draw up a power of attorney in personal matters, which include taking care of the person's personal well-being, his daily needs, his place of residence, his mental, social, physical affairs, as well as medical matters concerning his health, although it is possible to draw up a lasting medical power of attorney that refers only to the beautician's health matters. In addition, a lasting power of attorney can be drawn up in property matters, for the purpose of handling all of the beautifier's assets, finances and liabilities.
As part of the continuing power of attorney, the attorney may not only determine who the power of attorney will be, but also give him preliminary instructions regarding the actions and decisions he wants the power of attorney to take for him, although he may also leave full discretion to him regarding them.
In order to protect the validity of the continuing power of attorney, it is recommended that it be drawn up after receiving a medical opinion that testifies to the cognitive capacity of the beautifier, thereby defending against future claims that the document was drawn up while the beautifier was unable to understand the meaning of the continuing power of attorney and its results.
Collecting the medical documentation and editing a medical protocol
Many patients encounter rejection and refusal by the system, private and public, to pay their rights. In a significant number of cases, this is a refusal that could have been prevented, if only the claim had been submitted correctly and appropriately. Many patients are satisfied with partial medical summaries, which refer to a certain period, do not describe all limitations and do not represent their condition for approval.
In this context, it is important to understand, the medical records are the main tool in the struggle for the realization of the rights, especially when a benefit or a right is requested which pertains to a retroactive period. Therefore, it is important to act and collect all the medical documentation found among the treating doctors. Upon receipt of the full medical documentation, you must arrange it in chronological order, and of course remove from it documentation that does not faithfully represent your limitations due to the disease. After that, a "protocol" must be recorded that represents the process of medical deterioration, starting from the date of diagnosis, and among other things refer to diagnoses and limitations.
The medical protocol will help you a lot, when you are required to present your limitations due to the disease, including during an examination by a doctor / medical committee. It can be brought to the inspection body's disposal, and asked to include in the number of considerations also what is detailed in the protocol.
Collecting insurance documents
We tend to purchase various insurance products over the years, and pay expensive premiums for them. Thus, a person with Parkinson's may be entitled to insurance benefits by virtue of a critical illness policy, a disability policy or even a nursing policy. Therefore, it is important to take action to collect all the insurances we have purchased, review the detailed conditions and understand the qualifying criteria, before contacting the insurance corporation.
How do we know where we are insured? A basic rule for concluding an insurance contract is the payment of insurance premiums (premium) by the insured. Therefore, check all means of payment, current account, details of debit cards, pay slips, annual reports sent by mail, if you have insurance coverage. If you have an insurance agent at your disposal, it is recommended to consult with him regarding the insurances you have. You should also familiarize yourself with the Mount Insurance website established on by the Ministry of Finance, which allows using easy and simple identification means to locate insurance products registered in your name.
Now, after you have investigated the cognitive state, considered the possibility of a lasting power of attorney, collected the medical records and the insurance file, you can start exercising your rights.
Getting started: what are the rights? on the tip of the fork
A patient diagnosed with Parkinson's disease is entitled to various rights and payments, first and foremost from the state, and often through the National Insurance Institute, but also from insurance companies, if a relevant insurance policy has been purchased. Of course, the time frame is short and it is not possible to list all the rights and conditions for receiving them within the framework of this article, but it is important right now that you are aware of the many options that are available to you or your loved one. In the following articles that I will publish here on the blog, I will try to delve into the rights that exist in the various insurance branches, so that you will be awake and aware of your rights.
However, if you haven't checked it out yet In the rights guide for Parkinson's patients which I edited, it is recommended to review it. In the guide there is a lot of information about the rights in the state institutions and the insurance corporations.
The rights granted by the National Insurance Institute mainly include general disability allowance, mobility allowance, and special services allowance (but also other rights, such as exemption from income tax).
General disability allowance, is granted to an adult who has not yet reached retirement age and finds it difficult to work, either part-time or full-time. In order to receive the benefit, the patient is required to prove the existence of a suitable medical disability, a 50% decrease in earning capacity and an income that does not exceed 60% of the average wage in the economy.
Mobility allowance, is given to those who have limited mobility, and can be given to Parkinson's patients whose disease has affected their legs and their ability to walk. In addition to a monthly allowance, the insured may be entitled to various benefits such as a parking ticket for the disabled, financial assistance for the purchase of a car (standing loan), discounts in parking lots, and more. The amount of the allowance and the scope of the benefits are mainly determined according to the degree of the patient's limited mobility.
special services allowance, It is given to those who have difficulty performing basic daily activities and need help in performing them. In order to receive a benefit, the patient must meet various threshold conditions, including a medical disability of at least 60% for those who receive a disability allowance, or 75% for those who do not. Also, the receipt of the allowance depends on additional conditions relating to "double pensions", therefore before filing a claim, the possibility of receiving it should be carefully examined. For example, it is not possible to receive special services and mobility benefits in any case, except in certain cases specified by law.
As mentioned, in addition to receiving payments and rights from the state and the National Insurance Institute, Parkinson's patients can also receive compensation (insurance benefits) from private insurance companies, if they have a relevant insurance policy, such as Critical Illness, Work disability, And insurance nursing, and this in accordance with the insurance conditions. I will expand on the rights under these insurances, as stated in the following articles, but it is important for you to be aware of these insurances, the conditions of their coverage, the common reasons for rejection by insurance corporations and the way to deal with an insurance corporation in the event of a refusal.
