The High Court of Justice accepted an appeal challenging the legality of including pediatric dental care in the nation’s healthcare basket, explaining the decision by Deputy Health Ministry Yaakov Litzman and the cabinet is not sufficient, citing the need for approval from the Knesset Labor, Welfare and Social Services Committee.

The Movement for Quality Government was joined by the Israel Medical Association in the petition and the Dolev medical watchdog organization, challenging the process and not the actual plan to provide free dental care for the nation’s children.

Knesset officials explained, to the benefit of the petitioners, that the new service demands amending the law, which in turn requires the committee’s approval in order to obtain a stamp of legality. In essence, the court superseded a cabinet decision to allocate NIS 65 million in funding for Litzman’s program, accepting the petitioner’s contention that the decision lacks legal status.

Litzman stated that if “that is all that is required”, he will bring it to the committee to decide if it supports free dental care for the nation’s children. He questioned however why it has taken the court five months to announce the committee’s approval is necessary.

News 1 points out that despite Litzman’s statement, the court did not state that the committee’s approval is the ‘only’ problem with the new law.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)