Are you waiting for months for a surgical procedure or perhaps one of many admitted to a hospital, but you remain in a corridor as there is no space in any of the units? The healthcare system is in dire need of hundreds of millions of shekels but as a result of the Knesset voting to dissolve, hospitals will not receive the money they so badly require to continue operating.
The directors of government hospitals have been calling for assistance for months, explaining that cannot continue indefinitely without an infusion of money to keep them afloat. To date, the government has traditionally bailed out the deficit of these hospitals, allocating 600 million shekels annually but this year, the deficit has already reached 1.5 billion shekels.
Hospital administrators are aware that with elections set for 26 Adar, there is no longer money available to give them and they are now facing a critical situation.
An urgent meeting was held on Tuesday 17 Kislev in Ichilov Hospital, attended by hospital directors. They warned of a fatal blow to the healthcare system. The cite reasons for the growing deficit is the increase in salaries for doctors and nurses and the fact that kupot cholim (HMOs) are paying less to hospitals than in the past. They fear the treasury carried over the deficit into next year’s budget and this will result in fewer services for they will have to push off many elective surgical procedures and fire staff.
Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer Hospital has already begun firing doctors. Nahariya Hospital management has informed labor union officials that beginning in January 2015, some staff members will be dismissed. The union representing doctors in the nation’s government hospitals held a meeting on Wednesday to explain the situation facing the state healthcare facilities.
Prof. Ze’ev Rothstein, Medical Director of Sheba Hospital explains if there is a state of emergency like last summer, the hospitals will not be able to provide the same level of care. “I turned to whoever would listen to me and explained that we are heading to total collapse”, Prof. Rothstein adds.
Treasury officials explain they are working to help the hospitals, explaining they have turned to the Knesset Finance Committee to increase funding for these hospitals by over 400 million shekels.
Yediot Achronot reports that average waiting time for medical procedures in hospitals nationwide today as follows;
· 5 day wait for a catheterization procedure
· 12 day wait for a bypass surgery
· 22 day wait for vascular surgery
· 72 day wait for cataract surgery
· 81 day wait for a knee replacement
· 96 day wait for stomach stapling
· 98 day wait for removal of cyst on one’s vocal cords
· 122 day wait for surgery to correct a deviated septum.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
Like so many other serious structural problems in Israel, this one is caused by the residual effects of Israeli’s Communist origins. Initially all the KUPAT HOLIM organizations were associated with a political party and money for the KUPAH was channeled through the party. This was a scam and means each political party used to steal from the public. After skimming off the top for themselves, whatever was left was given over to the medical system. Also, the medical system, like every thing else under Government or political control, was dominated by The only way to prevent a disaster is to totally privatize the medical system. It is the irrational controls that the Government imposes that are destroying the system. Hospitals are not allowed to charge the real price for their services because of arbitrary price controls and must engage in fund raising to make up the differences. As a result only those hospital that have a successful fund raising apparatus or are totally private can afford to give proper care.
Privatization through insurance companies and the elimination of BETUACH LEUMI from the picture would in fact cost less and provide more coverage.
Like so many other serious structural problems in Israel, this one is caused by the residual effects of Israeli’s Communist origins. Initially all the KUPAT HOLIM organizations were associated with a political party and money for the KUPAH was channeled through the party. This was a scam and a means each political party used to steal from the public. After skimming off the top for themselves, whatever was left was given over to the medical system. Also, the medical system, like every thing else under Government or political control, was dominated by PROTXIA. If you knew the right people or were able to pay off the right people, you got priority treatment.
It is the irrational controls that the Government imposes, left over from those days, that are destroying the system. Hospitals are not allowed to charge the real price for their services because of arbitrary price controls and must engage in fund raising to make up the differences. As a result only those hospital that have a successful fund raising apparatus or are totally private can afford to give proper care. The only way to prevent a disaster is to totally privatize the medical system.
Privatization through insurance companies and the complete elimination of BETUACH LEUMI from the picture would in fact cost less and provide more coverage. It would allow hospital and doctors to charge the true price for their services. A proper, private insurance system would be more than adequate to cover these costs. For those who can not afford insurance, there can be a Government subsidized, but not run, system that provides for private insurance.
how many billions of shekels have we paid out to care for Syrians???It needs to stop so Israel can give care to our own people!