Reform of disabled parking permits worries patients: "I am being punished for being diagnosed 'too late'"

The emerging reform of the disabled parking permit system is intended to bring order to a mechanism that has surged in recent years and to reduce the abuse of permits. However, the proposed shift to relying on benefits and functional tests from the National Insurance Institute raises concerns that patients who have difficulty walking, but are not eligible for the established benefits, will lose the permit that allows them to leave the house and reach medical treatments.

According to the published outline, about 133,000 temporary permits that will expire in 2026-2027 will not be renewed automatically, and a gradual cancellation of permits granted permanently is also expected later.

One of them is Randy Harlev, 73, a pulmonary fibrosis patient who moves around with a portable oxygen concentrator. She was diagnosed shortly after the age of 67, and therefore is not eligible for a general disability pension. She is also not eligible for a nursing care allowance because she is independent in her daily activities.

"I am essentially liable to be punished for being diagnosed a week after the age of 67. I can dress and shower by myself, I am not in need of nursing care, but that does not mean I can walk hundreds of meters without difficulty. They examine one thing, while the limitation for which I need the permit is my ability to withstand exertion."

Harlev arrives twice a week for pulmonary rehabilitation at Meir Hospital. According to her, even today she finds it difficult to find a disabled parking space and is sometimes forced to forgo treatment.

"There have already been two or three times when I arrived for rehabilitation and simply returned home because I could not find a spot. When you are a lung patient, the distance from the parking lot is not a minor matter; sometimes it is what determines whether you will even manage to reach the treatment."

Shmulik Ben Yaakov, chairman of the Association for Patients' Rights, criticizes the fact that representatives of patient and disability organizations were not involved in formulating the outline.

"There is definitely a place to bring order to the disabled parking permit system and ensure that the permits reach those who truly need them, but eligibility for one benefit or another from the National Insurance Institute and a medical need for a disabled parking permit are not necessarily the same thing."

Harlev also does not oppose the change itself. "When I heard they wanted to bring order, I said to myself: it's about time," she recounts. "But beyond the dry criteria, there are human beings who are struggling. I am not asking for them to do these things for me — just not to put obstacles in my way every time I try to do them."