As Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid continue their efforts to reach agreement on the 2015 state budget, directors of government run hospitals around Israel warn of imminent fiscal collapse.

The forum representing the state hospitals over the weekend sent a letter to Health Minister Yael German in which they warned the current debt faced by state-run hospitals will have a major impact on their operating abilities in the short term. They explain that fiscal experts in the hospitals are demanding immediate austerity measures, including limiting non-essential life-saving procedures.

According to the Channel 10 News report, some of the hospitals are no longer paying their electric bill, property taxes to local government, fees to security firms and maintenance service companies as the fiscal crisis intensifies.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)