Ran Reznick

The current health crisis drew to a close yesterday with the cabinet's decision that the treasury will transfer NIS 100 million to the Health Ministry to cover half of the deficit in the government health system.

Israel's patients are twice abandoned. During the hospital crisis they were harmed by the largely staged and exaggerated restrictions on medical treatments. At the end of the crisis, there was nothing to indicate any significant improvement in the quality of medical services, nor any good news for the health system.

The health crisis is likely to be resolved today at the meeting of the economic-social cabinet, senior officials from both the health and finance ministries said yesterday.

Senior sources in the government health system reported that the Ministry of Health and the treasury were close to a solution to the crisis after Health Minister Dan Naveh and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached a series of agreements in their meetings the day before yesterday.

The NIS 330 million deficit accumulated by 13 hospitals under the auspices of the Clalit health maintenance organization (HMO) is a result of the hospitals' negligence in collecting money owed by private patients, the National Insurance Institute, the Palestinian Authority and other sources, a confidential report has found.

Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Dan Naveh met again last night in a last-ditch effort to solve the crisis in the health system. Before the meeting the Health Ministry launched an attack on the treasury, for its "obtuse, incorrect budget for the health system."

Report: Health, Finance Ministers only manage to reach agreement on small number of issues.

A twelve-hour meeting between Finance Minister Netanyahu and Health Minister Naveh on the health system budget crisis ended in failure yesterday. As a result only partial health service will be available today at public hospitals and HMO facilities.

The finance and health ministers were meeting late last night, trying to resolve a budget emergency in the health system as a key medicine supplier halted deliveries to seven state hospitals, and the Health Ministry demanded that the treasury immediately transfer over NIS 200 million - half the ministry's present deficit. The total hospital budget for the ministry is NIS 5 billion a year.

The crisis in the public health system intensified yesterday as more public hospitals cut back their services, following the cancellation of the meeting between Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Danny Naveh.

Meeting between health minister, finance minister fails to solve crisis

Israel's health system is becoming less fair and egalitarian, and the availability of medical treatment to the overall population is declining, senior Health Ministry officials said yesterday.

After 20 years of failed attempts, former Rambam Hospital doctor Yitzhak Roisman will now be licensed to perform operations, a move that is worrying some top surgeons.