ACRI has joined the petition submitted to the High Court of Justice, written by partnered human rights organizations and led by Physicians for Human Rights, on June 30, 2024. The petition is against new regulations regarding health insurance for stateless children and youth, which came into effect on July 1, 2024, replacing the previous arrangement that applied to most stateless minors in Israel since 2001.
The new regulations greatly reduces the entitlement of stateless minors to supervised and subsidized health insurance. Moreover, only children of Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers, who are subjected to the non-deportation policy and hold a valid visa, will be able to benefit from such health insurance. Children of refugees from other countries, including migrant workers, as well as children who were excluded from the previous arrangement – are not entitled to health insurance, at all, according to the regulations. In addition, the economic cost of health insurance has increased and is not limited by a cost ceiling, with terms far worse than the previous arrangement.
The petition was accompanied by a request for an interim injunction requesting that the regulations not be implemented until the petition is decided, so that there will be no harm to the children currently insured.
HCJ 5297/24 Physicians for Human Rights - Israel v. Minister of Health
Attorney: Adi Lustigman and Tamir Blank
The petition, June 30, 2024 (Hebrew)