Holocaust survivors (archives)
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Holocaust survivors to get free medications
Ynet learns Health and Social Affairs ministries, HMO representatives to form criteria for reform which will include tens of thousands of Shoah survivors, scheduled to be launched next month
Tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors will be able to enjoy free medications starting next month, Ynet has learned, following an agreement reached Sunday evening between Social Affairs Ministry Director-General Nachum Itzkovitz and Health Ministry Director-General Avi Yisraeli and representatives of Israel's
health maintenance organizations.
Itzkovitz expressed his hope that the plan would be finalized soon and launched in all HMOs in mid September.
As part of the reform, whose criteria will be finalized in the coming weeks, survivors will be entitled to free medications regardless of the type of medicine. Needy survivors will be favored.
Protest
Tal Rabinovsky
In demonstration outside Bank Leumi, survivors claim bank holding NIS 300 million (about $76.2 million) deposited before Holocaust; Bank Leumi: Protest organized by public relations agents
Meanwhile, a committee monitoring the implementation of government decisions on the Holocaust survivors issue is expected to convene Tuesday afternoon for the first time since the Netanyahu government was established.
The committee is headed by Itzkovitz and its members include representatives of the government ministries and survivors' organizations.
In November 2007, the previous government approved an aid plan for Holocaust survivors and pensioners, whose cost was estimated at NIS 1.5-2.5 billion (about $388-646 million). The plan was aimed at providing a solution for the economic distress of 85,000 Holocaust survivors from the "second circle" – those who were not in concentration camps but suffered from the war.
During the Olmert government's tenure, the committee would convene once a month, but its discussions were halted immediately after the elections. Following fears that the committee would cease to exist and that there would be no one to supervise the plan's execution, it was decided to reconvene the committee.
The Shoah survivors hope the Netanyahu government will allow them to spend the rest of their lives in dignity and remove all of the bureaucratic obstructions preventing the aid plan from being implemented. Heads of the survivors' organizations also hope the government will help them deal with their financial hardships.
