A major reform in Israeli health care, the provision of comprehensive dental care to all children up to age 8 for free or at symbolic cost, was launched on July 1. ACRI and its partners in the Coalition for Public Dental Health view this as a major success, despite the obstacles we continue to face, which will herald greater equality in the public health system.
See previous update from June 8, 2010:
The Coalition for Public Dental Health, of which ACRI is a key member, achieved a landmark victory yesterday, when the Knesset’s (parliament) Labor, Welfare, and Health Committee approved a five-month pilot program to provide dental care to children as part of the universal basket of health services, staring on July 1. The decision will allow all children up to age 8 to receive preventive dental care and treatment for free or at a symbolic cost, as part of the basic health care provided by Israel’s health funds. Because the domain of dental care will now be included in the health basket, ACRI is hopeful that the pilot program will open the way for a wider, more universal reform which will provide dental care to all children up to age 18 and to all seniors above the age of 65.
Yesterday’s vote came after Israel’s High Court of Justice vetoed a bill aimed at advancing the dental reform, after it was approved by the cabinet; in tandem, several key figures have attempted to make the reform conditional upon a fifth, for-profit health fund entering the market, to which we are opposed. ACRI has long objected to the inclusion of private companies to the public health sector, including the proposed fifth health fund, as it restricts access to health care for all Israelis, particularly, the poor and sick. Though the two proposals are now independent, the creation of a fifth for-profit health fund, specifically providing dental care, has been approved by the ministerial committee on legislation and the Knesset plenum will soon vote on it.
