Israeli Healthcare Crisis Overshadows Election Campaigns, Urges Strategic Reform
As Israeli citizens prepare to vote in upcoming elections, the public discourse is dominated by polished campaign messages, yet a critical issue remains overlooked: the healthcare system and pharmaceutical security. Baruch Lieberman, CEO of the nonprofit "Friends for Medicine," highlights the daily struggles of thousands of patients forced to choose between life-saving medications and basic necessities like food. His organization provides free medications monthly to around 7,000 patients, distributing approximately 80,000 shipments annually, totaling about 141 million shekels last year alone.
Lieberman emphasizes that health crises transcend political divides, affecting all citizens equally regardless of their political affiliations. He shares poignant examples, including a 78-year-old man who must forgo essential medicines due to insufficient pension funds, a single mother torn between paying for vital treatments and rent, and patients in peripheral areas facing long waits for critical diagnostic tests. These stories illustrate systemic failures, including severe shortages of doctors, nurses, and hospital beds, leading to overcrowded emergency rooms where patients endure long waits without adequate care.
The article also addresses the limited approval of new medications within Israel's health basket, noting that in 2025, only 13% of requested drugs and technologies worth 5 billion shekels were approved. While medical advances have transformed previously fatal diagnoses into manageable conditions, budget constraints continue to block patient access to these innovations. Lieberman argues that nonprofit organizations can only supplement, not replace, state responsibility.
He calls for a national commitment to expanding the health basket and restructuring healthcare funding, framing pharmaceutical security as a core component of national security and social resilience. Lieberman urges political candidates to prioritize healthcare with strategic, long-term plans rather than empty promises, asserting that doing so will restore trust among voters and address the fundamental needs shaping Israel's future quality of life.
