The Health Ministry announced on Wednesday it would expand its so-called subsidized "drug basket" that allows Israelis to pay for medicine and health technologies.
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A committee submitted a list of 135 recommended medications and treatments for 2022, worth $175.5 million. Following 18 meetings that took place over a span of three months, the committee members finalized the list, choosing from 850 medications altogether.
New subsidized medications include artificial pancreases for children with diabetes, genetic testing for rare diseases, fertility preservation for women with diminished ovarian reserve, treatments for multiple sclerosis, prostheses for amputees, transportation funding for children in need of dialysis, cochlear implants, treatments for transgender people, including voice therapy valued at $638 million, and more.
Fifteen new treatments were added this year for patients with cancer, lung, and gastrointestinal cancer, making up 20% of the allocated budget.
Horowitz said the committee members "did an amazing job," adding that the subsidized treatments include "super-advanced drugs and technologies in the fields of mental health, rehabilitation, funding innovative cancer treatments, treatments for transgender people, lowering the price of PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis taken to prevent getting HIV], adding another drug for HIV patients and assistance to a very wide range of people."
Israel's LGBT association, known as The Aguda, tweeted, "The decision of the Health Basket Committee determines what is already clear to health systems around the world – gender reassignment surgeries are life-saving.
"Since the 1980s, gender reassignment surgery has been in the health basket, and voice treatments are usually funded by the health funds. The decision today will alleviate the total uncertainty for those who find it more difficult to assert their rights."
Israel's annual health budget is roughly $14 billion.
"We have made every effort to ensure the citizens of the country receive the technologies that should be included in the basket as soon as possible," the coordinator of the committee, Dr. Osnat Luxenburg, said.
Nevertheless, several crucial treatments and medications did not make the list, such as Darzalex, which treats multiple myeloma (cancer of plasma cells), diabetes medications Ozempic and Rybelsus, which were omitted in part due to concerns of their misuse as these are also sold for weight loss purposes.
Qinlock, which treats gastrointestinal cancer and costs 300,000 shekels per patient, was also not included, with committee members sayings the price was "obscenely expensive."
Additional treatments left out of the basket were a pregnancy termination for women aged 33-40 for non-medical reasons and Xospata, which treats acute myeloid leukemia (cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells).
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