Health Fund Clalit Sues Health Ministry Over NIS 365 Million Funding Gap
The Clalit health fund has filed a petition with the High Court of Justice, demanding the Ministry of Health transfer NIS 365 million in overdue funding. Clalit argues that the ministry's failure to disburse these funds, which are part of its 2026 budget allocation under a 2023 stabilization agreement, constitutes a severe breach of the National Health Insurance Law.
According to Clalit, the ministry's actions "severely and far-reachingly harm Clalit's financial stability and its ability to provide health services to its members." The health fund asserts that this withholding of funds discriminates against millions of Clalit members and infringes upon their right to healthcare.
Clalit explains that the health basket budget, intended to be transferred by the state to health funds, has been eroded over the years due to underfunding and a failure to update it according to real expenses, leading to significant deficits for the funds. Stabilization agreements were developed to cover these deficits, with funds transferred based on support criteria.
Clalit states that the NIS 365 million represents the remaining portion of the NIS 684 million it is entitled to for 2026. While NIS 319 million has been transferred, the ministry, led by Minister Haim Katz, has allegedly refused for months to publish the necessary support criteria to release the balance. Clalit claims the Ministry of Finance has already transferred the funds to the Ministry of Health, which is then failing to pass them on.
The Ministry of Health reportedly informed Clalit last week that it is withholding the funds due to a lawsuit Clalit filed against it in April 2023 concerning treatments provided to Ukrainian war refugees at the state's request. Clalit contends this is a "baseless excuse," as the ministry did not raise this issue for over three years and continued to transfer hundreds of millions of shekels after the lawsuit was filed. Clalit also points out that the current withheld amount is twenty times larger than the claim in their lawsuit.
