Cabinet unanimously approves health basket expansion
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
12/30/2012 23:28
The cabinet on Sunday unanimously approved an approximately NIS 300 million
expansion of the health basket, pursuant to the proposal of Deputy Health
Minister Ya’acov Litzman. The expansion will take effect at the beginning of
next month.
The 2013 health basket was formulated by the Public Committee
on the expansion of the Health Basket chaired by Shaare Zedek Medical Center
directorgeneral Prof. Jonathan Halevy.
The 2013 health basket will focus
on preventive care: For the first time, more than 50,000 eighth-grade girls will
be inoculated against cervical cancer. Innovative drugs for the treatment of
breast and ovarian cancer will be added including Afinitor, Perjeta and Avastin,
as well as an innovative drug for treating prostate cancer, Zytiga. The basket
will also include nuchal translucency testing (for early detection of Down
syndrome) and advanced pregnancy tests for various genetic
diseases.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, “This is a very
significant expansion of the health basket: Important medicines and medical
technologies, including preventing cervical cancer among woman, breast cancer,
prenatal tests and advanced pregnancy treatments. All of this is advanced
preventive and therapeutic treatment.”