Organizations are calling on the government to invest in improving and
reinforcing the infrastructure of Israel's public health system.
A government initiative to expand
medical services to tourists is under attack by a broad alliance of groups
claiming that the plan would come at the expense of Israeli residents.
The organizations are calling on
the government to invest in improving and reinforcing the infrastructure of
Israel's public health system.
The social justice protest's
panel of health care experts and the Public Network for Health Equity in
Israel, which includes human rights organizations and groups advocating for
patients' rights, sent a letter on Wednesday that opposes plans to increase
medical tourism.
The letter went to Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and Health Ministry
Director General Roni Gamzu.
"We were surprised to read
that, rather than investing in the development of the public health system's
infrastructure, the government is promoting another step toward privatizing the
system," the organizations said. "Medical tourism is already harming
the public health system and the availability of health care services for the
country's residents."
A proposal by Litzman allows
state-run hospitals to devote as much as 10% to 15% of their resources to
medical tourism and up to 25% in any given hospital ward, as well as the
establishment of a private hospital for this purpose. That proposal was sent to
the director general of the Prime Minister's Office, Harel Locker.
"If the health system
enjoyed an excess of staff, beds and other medical infrastructure, it might be
possible to understand the government's position of seeking to encourage
medical tourism to make efficient use of the surplus," the organizations
wrote. "But in a situation where infrastructure is lacking, expanding
medical tourism could have severe implications on the health system's public
character."
The organizations also warn against
creating incentives for hospitals for giving profitability priority over
essentials. "Medical tourism rates are 30% to 40% above the norm and
sometimes 50% more than what the HMOs pay, creating an economic incentive for
hospitals to prefer foreign patients over Israeli patients," the groups
wrote.
Ronny Linder-Ganz
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