The drug basket for 2020 will be added only with NIS 500 million and not NIS 750 million as asked

The Ministry of Finance and Health has concluded that the drug basket budget for 2020 will be NIS 500 million. Same amount as budget for 2019-2017. Deputy Minister of Health Jacob Litzman pledged to increase the budget to NIS 700 and even NIS 750 million, but due to the fact that a transitional government has not allowed him to fulfill his promise.
About 900 drugs and technologies with a total cost of over NIS 3 billion have been submitted to the Therapy Basket Committee, headed by Prof. Zeev Rothstein. Since the budget is only half a billion shekels, it covers only one-sixth of the needs.
The health basket - a budget that the Israeli government gives to four health funds to provide their members with health services - was NIS 53 billion in 2019 and is updated according to three types of coefficients or metrics: cost factor, demographic coefficient and technological advance.
Litzman: "I have made it clear all along that we will not be able to receive a basket of less than half a billion shekels. This is the system's highest commitment. This allocation will enable the basket committee to continue its work properly, with a commitment to include life-saving medicines."
The health basket framework is set every three years for three years ahead when the last time was set in 2017 and therefore it had to be set in 2019, by 2020. The cost index should reflect the system's price increases, including wages, medicines, equipment and inputs (electricity, water and more). ) And is an exogenous variable (determined from the outside by Central Bureau of Statistics statistics). The demographic index, taking into account its growing population and aging rate - is both exogenous in its media and based on objective data.
On the other hand, the technological index is determined in negotiations between the health and finance ministries and is recognized by the public as the "drug basket" because it essentially describes the addition of drugs and technologies to the health basket in the coming year. Although he is the smallest of the echoes, he is most appealing to the public. Just to explain it: Over the past year, the increase in cost and demographic additions totaled about NIS 1 billion each.
Litzman: "I have made it clear all along that we will not be able to receive a basket of less than half a billion shekels. This is the system's highest commitment. This allocation will enable the basket committee to continue its work properly, with a commitment to include life-saving medicines."