Israel's Sick Funds Get Tough On Doctors

24 November 1997

Two of Israel's four sick funds, the Maccabi and the Meuhedet, havestarted to impose fines on doctors found to have helped their patients get around bureaucratic corners regarding the availability of certain medicines.

A very substantial part of the drug lists of these two funds, as with all the sick funds, consists of new and/or expensive drugs which require that the patient gets prior approval from a specialist. Doctors in these two funds who have helped their patients to avoid this delaying tactic have found that the cost of such medicines has been deducted from their payslips.

Responding to criticism, both funds have said that doctors working with them know what the rules are and are aware they can be financially disciplined for any harm caused by their action to the funds.

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