On June 7, the Health Ministry notified the High Court of Justice of its decision to triple the budget for preventative dental care for schoolchildren. The announcement was made in response to a High Court petition submitted by ACRI and Physicians for Human Rights, demanding all Israeli schoolchildren be provided with free-of-charge dental checkups, as clearly stated in the National Health Insurance Law. ACRI welcomes the Health Ministry’s decision, but cautions that unless additional steps are taken, this decision will not be sufficient in and of itself to ensure dental care for all students.
Israel’s State Comptroller report from 2004 revealed that although every child is entitled to the national dental health basket, only 25% of school students in grades 1 to 9 receive state-sponsored dental checkups. The reason for this is that Health Ministry regulations stipulate that local authorities be the providers of dental treatment. As this decision is left in their hands, only affluent local authorities have take on this mission, while more than half (58%) do not provide any such services.
Bolstered by this victory, ACRI intends to continue our struggle to ensure equal access to healthcare for all members of society. “The National Health Insurance Law states that every student is entitled to receive comprehensive dental care. Routine dental checkups are vital, but not enough”, said Attorney Dori Spivak.
