Accessible therapy?
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Reform to make therapy accessible to all
Health Ministry promoting measure that would make mental health services widely accessible under HMO coverage
The Health Ministry
is pursuing a reform that would make mental health services accessible to anyone requiring it at minimal cost.
As per the initiative, by 2015 anyone insured under a public health plan would be able to receive mental health services for as low as NIS 22 ($6) a quarter.
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According to data compiled by the World Health Organization, one in four people will require therapy in his or her lifetime. The reasons are many: Depression, insomnia, stress, anxiety and others. As of now, the government provides these services reservedly; only 30 such clinics operate across the country, and patients often wait for months – sometimes over a year – to get an appointment. Many are driven to seek private help, for which they pay hundreds of shekels per session.
In 2006, the National Health Insurance Law asserted that mental health services – including psychiatric hospitalization and therapy provided by psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers – must be placed under the control of health maintenance organizations (HMOs). But the legislation to facilitate the transfer has yet to be passed.
Addiction treatment and rehabilitation are to remain under the government's control.
Reform carries costs
After years of negotiations, the Health Ministry has decided to demand the government to implement the reform through a warrant instead of legislation. If the measure is approved, the Finance Ministry would gradually allocate the funds to construct the infrastructure required to allow HMOs to provide the services.
"It cannot go on this way, the situation is catastrophic," a senior Health Ministry official said. "People are queued for an appointment for months upon months; children sometimes wait for over a year. We all have to make an effort to get this reform on the road."
According to the proposed measure, patients who do not want to come to a clinic will also have the option of receiving therapy at the comfort of their own home or office, at a cost of NIS 90 ($24) per session.
Not everyone is pleased with the impending reform; therapists fear that the measure could compromise their profits, while HMOs are concerned about the program's cost.
Clalit Health Services, which insures 70% of the country's mental health patients, said that while it supports the reform, it requires resources much wider in scope than what the government is willing to allocate – hundreds of millions of shekels more, in fact.
Maccabi Healthcare Services has taken a similar stance.
"For years, we have been seeking to pass the reform, but we should adequately prepare for it," said Dr. Varda Shalev, the head of the HMO's Department of Primary Care. "We hope that the Finance Ministry budgets these services as necessary."
