The Adva Center, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel submitted comments on the draft law to ensure quality health services (legislative amendments), 2025, which aims to improve the Ministry of Health's supervision of health funds and health institutions. The organizations welcomed the move, particularly because the existing supervision and control measures are insufficient; even those that exist are not adequately utilized by the Ministry, resulting in violations of the right to health care, especially for the country’s weakest and most vulnerable groups.
In the comments on the draft law, Dr. Shani Bar-Tovia from Physicians for Human Rights highlighted several changes that should be made so that the law can indeed serve its intended purpose and contribute to reducing health care inequality in Israel. Proposed amendments include:
Not to focus on punishing HMOs for budget deficits. This stems from the view that it is the government’s responsibility to properly fund Israel’s health services. Imposing fines on HMOs for deficits, based on a policy that treats deficits as the sole responsibility of the HMOs, is an unreasonable measure that could harm individuals.
To emphasize transparency, particularly when it comes to the transfer of information and data from HMOs regarding the availability and quality of services, which will help improve equality within the health system. This information must be accessible and clear to local authorities, researchers, and civil society organizations. It is especially important that the HMOs’ budgets are transparent, and the Ministry of Health must ensure that it is used to promote equality in health and to improve the quality of services.
Ensuring that existing supervision and enforcement tools are fully utilized, developing new tools, and assuring that the new tools are also fully utilized.
Improving the regulation of HMOs, private medical services, pharmaceutical companies, and polluting companies.
Establishing clear standards in the National Health Insurance Law regarding the right of all citizens and residents to receive quality health services within a reasonable timeframe, and at a reasonable distance from their places of residence.
The organizations emphasized that these improvements should be enacted together with the policy changes needed to strengthen the public health system, a budget increase to match the system's needs, and the complete separation of private and public medicine.
Organizations' comments on the draft law, February 23, 2025 (Heb)