The Israel Medical Association (IMA) has demanded that the Finance Ministry increase the health basket by NIS 250 million to underwrite an additional 23 medications and vital medical technologies.

Pharmaceutical subsidies were not increased under the 2007 budget, because in 2006, NIS 700 million was added, and part of this was slated for the 2007 budget, the treasury says.

The list of included medications and medical instruments is based on recommendations by scientific organizations and senior physicians from every medical field and specialty.

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Yesterday, IMA chairman Dr. Yoram Balshar suggested a source for additional funding.

"About NIS 400 million designated for the 2006 pharmaceutical basket was not used," he said at an IMA press conference. "The reason: The committee that drafted that year's list of medicines and medical technologies completed its deliberations seven months after the fiscal year began. Thus, a considerable portion of the allotment was not used."

Recommended additions include Arbitox, a medication used to treat late-stage intestinal cancer in cases where malignant, secondary growths fail to respond to chemotherapy. The IMA estimates the drug could save the lives of 364 cancer patients, at a cost of NIS 36 million for a year of treatment. "There is no substitute for Arbitox in treating late-stage intestinal cancer patients whose illness cannot be treated by any other drug in the current basket," he said.

The list also includes Tarceva, a medication for treating lung cancer patients following pneumectomy - removal of the affected lung - and chemotherapy. According to estimates, 300 patients are candidates for Tarceva, at a cost of about NIS 1 million. The Maccabi HMO subsidizes Tarceva, but most Israeli residents are members of the Clalit HMO and thus lack access to this medication. Tarceva costs NIS 15,000 per month.

The IMA is also demanding improved coverage for children with cancer. Dr. Nili Remo, chair of the Israel Society of Pediatric Oncology, says that because pediatric cancer is relatively rare - only 450 children are diagnosed with cancer every year - the budget for treatment is similarly limited.

Alesia Molveni, whose 15-year-old son has leukemia, said yesterday that it costs NIS 15,000 a month to provide her son with the drug Glivac.

"The doctors at Schneider [Children's Medical Center], who treat my son, raise funds every month to pay for his medicine, because I do not have the money," she said.

Professor Michael Glikson, Israel Heart Society chair, spoke yesterday about the importance of adding the Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) to the list of instruments covered by the health basket.

"Dozens of lives would be saved each year," he said.

At $7,000 apiece, this heart monitor prevents sudden death in cardiac patients with decreased heart function. The IMA estimates there are 600 cardiac patients in Israel who require the ICD, at a total cost of NIS 39.5 million.

The Ministry of Health responds, "Because this year the health basket was expanded in stages, corresponding portions of the budget were transferred to the HMOs, in keeping with the inclusion date [for medicines and instruments]. The health basket committee does not have a budget surplus, and the entire 2006 budget was used. The cabinet's decision to add NIS 700 million in health services is a permanent addition to the basket's cost, and it will be granted permanently beginning in 2007."