Health fund members cannot be forced to show their magnetic cards when seeking
basic medical services, medications or first aid, according to Health Ministry
deputy director-general Dr. Yoel Lipschitz, who is supervisor of the public
health insurers.
Instead, the health fund staffers can request another
type of identity card, he said in a statement on Monday.
“For basic
medical services, the health fund must not condition presentation of the
magnetic card for making a medical appointment.
Appointments cannot be
canceled or delayed as a result of not having the card or lead to patients
having to wait for long period for an appointment, said Lipschitz.
The
deputy director-general told
The Jerusalem Post that there had recently been
cases, especially at Maccabi Health Services, in which staffers insisted they
could not give service or that appointments were delayed because members had not
brought along their cards.
“Even at a bank, if you forgot your debit
card, you can still show another identification card and take out money,” said
Lipschitz.
He added that there have not been complaints about funds
mistakenly debited by health through magnetic cards; he added that rebates at
the end of a quarter after making excessive copayments for services or
medications are even better as a result of the magnetic cards.