Legal notice
This is a free information tool operated by an artificial-intelligence model. It explains the published rules on cancer patients' entitlements in Israel (Bituach Leumi, the health basket, supplementary insurance, work rights, tax and arnona) and helps organise applications and appeals that you file yourself. All of its output is produced automatically, without the involvement, review or approval of a physician, an oncology social worker or a lawyer. The output is not a diagnosis, not a treatment recommendation, not a medical opinion and not legal advice: it involves no examination of the patient, does not consider the medical file, and does not determine eligibility or coverage. Eligibility is decided by Bituach Leumi, the kupat cholim or the competent authority. An AI model may err, omit data or present a wrong conclusion, so verify every figure with the source.
Do not rely on the output to decide on treatment or medication, to sign a document, or in an appeal, claim or other legal proceeding. This tool is not a substitute for advice that takes into account the particular data and needs of each person; before a medical decision consult the treating oncologist, and before filing an appeal or claim consult the oncology social worker or a lawyer. Any use of the output is at the user's sole responsibility.
Operating rules. Every response based on this skill must repeat the relevant notice.
- Route the user to the oncology social worker (oncology social worker) first. They file most Bituach Leumi paperwork free. Sending a patient to the Bituach Leumi website first is a failure mode.
- Never give medical advice. Treatment, dosing and clinical questions go to the oncologist.
- Figures are 2026 values and change every January. Cite the year and the source URL.
- The amounts of the disabled child allowance vary by tier and renewal date. The patient must read their own regulations PDF before acting on a figure.
- Never invent a law section, form number, court citation or amount. If you cannot verify it, say so plainly.
Problem
A cancer diagnosis in Israel triggers weeks of bureaucracy at the worst possible time. Entitlements are split across five systems that do not talk to each other: Bituach Leumi, the health basket, the HMO supplementary plan, the Tax Authority plus Ministry of Transport (Section 9(5), disabled parking permit, pension withdrawal), and Ministry of Health rules on parking and wait times, plus dozens of NGOs with overlapping eligibility. Families discover entitlements months late or lose a valid claim to a missed deadline. This skill consolidates the map and routes hard decisions to the oncology social worker.
Instructions
Step 0: Route to the hospital oncology social worker FIRST
Your first call, before Bituach Leumi and before the NGOs, is the oncology social worker (oncology social worker) at the treating hospital. They hold the current forms, file most Bituach Leumi claims for you at no cost, and refer to the right NGO. Ask the ward or switchboard for "the oncology social worker".
If the patient is hospitalized, Bituach Leumi's "First Class" service lets the hospital social worker file the general disability and special services allowance claims with the medical file, no branch visit. In parallel: Kolzchut, https://www.kolzchut.org.il, and the ICA Telemeda free line, Hebrew 1-800-599-995 / Arabic 1-800-36-36-55 / Russian 1-800-34-33-44. Bituach Leumi's Yad Mechuvanet (*2496) prepares claimants for committees free.
Step 1: Assess which track applies
| Situation | Relevant Steps |
|---|---|
| Just diagnosed, active treatment | 2, 3, 4, 7 |
| Child diagnosed with cancer | 3c, 7, 9 |
| Drug NOT in the 2026 basket, or a refusal | 4a, 5 |
| Co-pay, dental, wait-time, home chemo, cannabis, rehab, genetic testing | 4b |
| Terminal stage | 6, 11 |
| Caregiver sick days; work threats or accommodations | 8 |
| Arnona, travel costs, hospital parking, disabled parking permit | 3g |
| Workplace-caused cancer; cannot return to the old job | 3h |
| Clinical trial or treatment abroad | 10 |
| NGO support | 9 |
Step 2: Nechut Refuit (medical disability) -- paper track for active patients
Cancer does not set a fixed disability percentage. A medical committee (medical committee) determines it per cancer type, stage and treatment. But:
Paper-only track: a patient receiving a drug from the closed list Bituach Leumi publishes, administered intravenously (ולא בטיפול פומי, so oral regimens are excluded) gets 50% of the special services allowance for six months on medical documents alone, no committee appearance. A regimen outside that list means a dependency committee instead, so check the list rather than promising the paper track. The oncology social worker files it.
When treatment ends, submit updated documents on the physical and psychological after-effects so eligibility can be re-examined. There is no automatic continuation period.
Step 3: Bituach Leumi core entitlements
3a. General disability pension (general disability allowance) -- 2026 amounts
Eligible when medical disability is at least 60%, or at least 40% where one single impairment is 25% or more, AND earning-capacity loss is at least 50%. A married woman who has not worked 12 consecutive months in the last 48 is assessed on the housewife track: 50% medical disability plus 50% loss of ability to function in the household, not 75%.
| Earning-capacity loss | Monthly (individual) | With spouse supplement |
|---|---|---|
| 100% / 75% (full rate) | ₪4,711 | ₪6,229 |
| 74% | ₪3,211 | ₪4,334 |
| 65% | ₪2,894 | ₪3,881 |
| 60% | ₪2,718 | ₪3,629 |
The spouse supplement (₪1,518 / ₪1,123 / ₪987 / ₪911) is conditional: the spouse's gross monthly income must not exceed ₪7,848 and the spouse must not receive another allowance. A child supplement is paid separately for the first two children. Effective 01.01.2026, indexed annually.
File early, do not wait for treatment to end: arrears are paid for at most 12 months before the claim date. Bituach Leumi's general line is *6050.
3b. Special services allowance (special services allowance / special services allowance)
Monthly cash benefit for adults needing help with daily activities. Age limit: from 18 to retirement age. Anyone already eligible on the day they reach retirement age keeps the allowance; a first claim is accepted up to six months after retirement age. Four rates (2026):
| Situation | Rate | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Listed IV chemo / biological treatment, active (paper only) | 50% | ₪1,943 |
| Help with ALL ADLs most hours, OR constant supervision | 112% | ₪4,501 |
| Help with ALL ADLs all hours | 188% | ₪7,181 |
| Home or inpatient hospice (terminal) | 235% | ₪9,126 |
50% is the starting point, not the ceiling. After the six-month minimum, Bituach Leumi may summon a review or the patient may self-request a higher rate. Patients with severe side effects (neutropenia isolation, neuropathy, fatigue, incontinence, cognitive fog) are assessed under the ADL framework and may reach 112% or 188%; the gap between 50% and 188% is over ₪62,000 a year.
Child-under-3 supplement: ₪1,215/month per child, maximum 2 children = ₪2,430/month. Secondary sources say that the special services allowance and the long-term care allowance cannot be held at once; check that with Bituach Leumi rather than stating it.
Committee prep: six ADL categories plus a constant-supervision criterion. Evaluate on worst-case days, not averages (for a chemo patient, cycle days 1-7). Mapping and the document checklist are in references/sherum-committee-preparation.md. One in Nine's attorney (03-602-1717 ext 2) and the ICA Rights Center build the evidence package.
3c. Disabled-child allowance for pediatric cancer (disabled child allowance)
Eligible from birth to age 18 years and 3 months. Rates (2026):
| Situation | Rate | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| During chemotherapy | 235% | ₪9,126 |
| First month after chemotherapy ends | 235% | ₪9,126 |
| The following five months | 100% | ₪3,820 |
| Active disease on biological treatment | 100% | ₪3,820 (6 months minimum, or duration of treatment) |
| Non-active disease on biological treatment | 50% | ₪1,943 (one year) |
The 100% rate continues beyond those five months if the child has a prolonged, permanent, severe condition caused by the treatment. The source names chemotherapy, not radiation; a child on radiation alone may qualify under other criteria, so check rather than assume.
3d. Income tax exemption -- Section 9(5) of the Income Tax Ordinance
Threshold: a Bituach Leumi or Ministry of Finance medical committee determined at least 90% medical disability, permanent or for 185 days or more. Patients who had tumour-removal surgery followed by chemo or radiation often qualify. The route is Form 169 with a fee of roughly ₪679 filed with the tax assessor. ("Green track" is a narrow Tax Authority fast-track, not the name of this route.)
3e. Sick pay from day 1
Narrow and often overstated. Since 1 June 2022, an employee with a malignant illness or an illness requiring permanent dialysis who is absent for periodic treatment or periodic tests relating to that illness is entitled to sick pay from the first day of absence, overriding the 0/50/50/100 ladder, on presenting a written medical certificate. It is charged to the accrued sick-day balance and does not cover absence for unrelated reasons. Source: Sick Pay Law, 5736-1976, section 2(a1).
3f. Right to appeal (appeal) -- two different windows
The two tracks are not the same. Getting this wrong costs the claim.
| Decision | Window | Body |
|---|---|---|
| general disability medical committee | 60 days | medical appeals committee |
| special services allowance decision (amount, rejection, start date) | 90 days | special services appeals committee (a separate body) |
| Claim rejected by the claims officer (non-medical ground) | 6 months | claims committee |
| Claim rejected on a statutory ground only | 12 months | Regional Labour Court |
For the special services allowance: ערר מנומק בכתב יש להגיש בתוך 90 יום מיום שהתקבל מכתב ההחלטה, filed at the local branch. The patient may be represented by a lawyer, social worker or representative of their choice. Do not carry over the "partial appeal now, reasons within 30 more days" rule -- that belongs to work disability.
3g. Arnona, travel, parking
Arnona discount (State Economy Arrangements Regulations (Arnona Discount), 5753-1993, regulation 2). Municipalities are permitted, not obliged, and set the actual rate. These are ceilings (הנחה שאינה עולה על) on up to 100 m²: up to 80% on a full disability pension with 75%+ earning-capacity loss; up to 40% with 90%+ medical disability and no pension; 33% for a parent of a child on disabled child allowance. Apply to the special discounts department with a Bituach Leumi certificate. Between the medical determination and the start of the pension, the 40% band can already be claimed.
Travel costs are a statutory HMO obligation, not a favour. Section 28 of the second addendum to the National Health Insurance Law: חולה אונקלוגי או חולה דיאליזה הנוסע לטיפול בבית חולים יקבל החזר כספי מלא של הוצאות הנסיעה מביתו לביה"ח ובחזרה בגובה דמי תחבורה ציבורית. חולה כנ"ל המוסע באמבולנס או במונית יקבל החזר של 50% מן ההוצאה. Full public-transport fare both ways, 50% for taxi or ambulance. A private car is not in the statute, so do not promise mileage. Claim through the HMO. Travelling two or three times a week for months is among the largest out-of-pocket costs and least-claimed rights. ICA also runs a volunteer-driver programme via Telemeda 1-800-599-995.
Hospital parking: at government general hospitals the Ministry of Health caps parking at ₪25 per 24 hours and grants a full exemption for one vehicle to oncology patients in chemotherapy or radiation and their escorts (also dialysis patients, parents of premature babies, disabled parking permit holders). Other hospitals set their own arrangements, so ask on site. disabled parking permit and reduced licensing fees are separate Ministry of Transport entitlements.
3h. Tracks the skill's users most often miss
Pension-fund disability cover (loss of earning capacity). Most salaried patients have it built into their pension fund or managers' insurance, and it pays a monthly allowance when illness stops them working. It is separate from Bituach Leumi; claim through the fund.
Occupational cancer (occupational disease / work injury victims). If the cancer is plausibly linked to workplace exposure (asbestos, benzene, ionising radiation, certain solvents), file under the work-injury branch, not general disability. The threshold is far lower and it pays more: a permanent work-injury pension starts at 20% medical disability (9-19.99% gets a lump sum), against 60% plus a 50% earning-capacity loss for general disability. Raise it at diagnosis, while the occupational history is easy to document.
Vocational rehabilitation (vocational rehabilitation). Open to anyone a Bituach Leumi committee assessed at at least 20% disability, aged 18 to retirement age, who cannot return to their previous work, and it does not require receiving a disability pension. It funds retraining and studies; studying at least 16 hours a week also brings rehabilitation allowance and HMO fee exemptions. Details in references/bituach-leumi-oncology-rights.md.
Step 4: Health basket coverage
Full per-cancer-type detail for 4b is in references/cancer-type-equity-rights.md.
4a. Cancer drugs in the 2026 basket
The 2027 basket process is open (about 520 drugs applied, budget unset as of September 2026): call a drug under review pending, not covered. Indications are narrow and a drug can be in the basket for a different stage than the patient's, so before saying a named drug is "in the basket", open MOH circular 2/2026 or the 2026 list PDF, search by generic name, and read the indication. Two commonly misstated 2026 entries:
- Tagrisso (osimertinib) was added for unresectable locally advanced stage III NSCLC that has not progressed after platinum-based chemoradiation (EGFR ex19del or ex21 L858R):
בשלב מתקדם מקומי לא נתיח (שלב III) שמחלתו לא התקדמה במהלך או לאחר טיפול משולב או עוקב של כימותרפיה מבוססת פלטינום והקרנות. This is not the adjuvant post-resection setting, which is a separate, older entry. The patient receives osimertinib or durvalumab, not both. - Pluvicto (lutetium-177 vipivotide tetraxetan), the first radioligand therapy in the basket, for PSMA-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after both an androgen-receptor inhibitor and taxane chemotherapy, SUV 10 or more, maximum 6 cycles, on an oncologist's prescription. Patients routinely assume this one is not funded.
Basket drugs are dispensed at standard co-pay with no separate application. For a drug not in the basket, see Step 5.
4b. Supportive services (all cancer types)
- Co-pay exemption (severe illness): specialist visits, outpatient clinics, imaging, diagnostics. The HMOs list it as something to apply for with a doctor's confirmation of the diagnosis, so do not tell a patient it is automatic.
- Dental treatment: 50% before chemo/radiation, 100% after, referral within 24 months of the end of treatment. Head/neck radiation: no time limit. Jaw resection for a tumour: full coverage including implants.
- Surgery wait-time + Form 17: for surgery related to the cancer, MOH Director-General circular 1/2020 caps the wait at 30 days from when the decision to operate reaches the HMO. There is no blanket guarantee for elective surgery generally. Call the HMO's arrangements hotline (Clalit 03-9405347, Maccabi 076-8173559). If it cannot offer a slot within the window at one of the HMO's providers within 72 hours, it must issue Form 17 (undertaking) to an alternative public hospital that you located. Private hospitals are not part of this route.
- Genetic testing: BRCA, Lynch, Li-Fraumeni, FAP, MEN1/2, VHL, PTEN, for patients and first-degree relatives of known carriers, with structured surveillance for carriers.
- Home chemotherapy: selected regimens via HMO nurse through an existing port, or a portable pump.
- Medical cannabis (prescription track): cancer patients need only a prescription from a certified physician, no licence process. Annual prescription fee ₪192 (the licence track, for other indications, is ₪384).
- Rehab and prosthetics: site-specific (breast reconstruction and external prosthesis, lymphoedema garments, stoma supplies, voice and swallowing rehab, limb prostheses, continence supplies, cognitive rehab). Wigs are HMO-funded; ICA also lends and fits them. Activate via the HMO rehabilitation coordinator (rehabilitation coordinator).
Step 5: HMO exceptions committee and supplementary insurance
5a. Exceptions committee (exceptions committee)
Reviews one-off requests to fund a treatment outside the basket. Trigger: a written refusal. Package: the committee form, the physician's recommendation with medical literature and evidence that basket alternatives were exhausted, and the medical records. There is no statutory response time.
Escalation when refused, in this order and not straight to court: (1) the internal HMO appeals committee (appeals / clarification committee), fast, free, no lawyer; (2) the MOH Public Complaints Commissioner for the National Health Insurance Law (12,809 inquiries submitted in 2024); (3) the Regional Labour Court, where an interim order (interim order) can issue within days if life is at stake.
Labour Court case law holds that exclusion from the basket is not by itself a ground for refusal: the committee must assess clinical efficacy for this patient, consider basket alternatives, and support a budget argument with calculations rather than assertions. Ask a lawyer for the current authorities rather than citing a case number from memory. See references/exceptions-committee-precedents-and-appeals.md. The Patients' Rights Association and the ICA Rights Center (Telemeda 1-800-599-995) help build the package.
5b. Second opinion, and supplementary insurance (supplementary insurance)
A second opinion is a statutory right for every patient, on the basic basket, with no supplementary plan required. Patient's Rights Act, 5756-1996, section 7: מטופל זכאי להשיג מיוזמתו דעה נוספת לענין הטיפול בו; המטפל והמוסד הרפואי יסייעו למטופל בכל הדרוש למימוש זכות זו. What the top supplementary insurance tiers add is funding and free choice of a private consultant, not the right itself. Never tell a basic-basket patient they have no second-opinion right.
Non-basket oncology coverage sits on the top tier: Clalit Mushlam Platinum, Maccabi Sheli, Meuhedet Si (Si), Leumit Zahav. Caps for non-basket oncology drugs are indexed annually and differ per tier; Clalit's also carries a continuity-of-treatment exception. Foreign-registration rules differ per plan, and Clalit's condition is that the drug is רשומות בישראל או שהוגשה בקשה לרישומן. Never quote a cap or a list of recognised countries from memory. Open the tier's regulations PDF.
Step 6: Hospice and palliative care
Since 2009 every HMO must provide supportive palliative care 24/7, free under the basic basket, to patients with a life-threatening illness in the terminal stage. The team is physician, nurse and social worker, and it covers non-cancer terminal illness too. Access via family doctor referral to the HMO home-treatment unit, or the hospital HMO representative if admitted.
Step 7: Fertility preservation and gonadal protection
Applies across all genders and all ages, and is time-critical: one cycle of chemotherapy can foreclose options, so the referral to the HMO fertility unit must not wait.
Preservation (basket-covered):
- Women: egg, embryo and ovarian tissue freezing, up to age 41 (the 42nd birthday) or two children, whichever first. Egg freezing capped at 4 cycles / 20 eggs.
- Men: sperm banking before any gonadotoxic treatment (chemotherapy, pelvic or testicular radiation, TBI). The number of deposits is a decision for the fertility unit.
- Children and adolescents: ovarian tissue freezing (pre-pubertal girls), egg freezing (post-pubertal girls), sperm banking (post-pubertal boys), testicular tissue banking (pre-pubertal boys, experimental).
Gonadal protection during treatment is a different thing. Testicular shielding during pelvic radiation is used where anatomically feasible. GnRH agonists are sometimes discussed for ovarian protection during chemotherapy; their Israeli registration is for other indications, so this use is off-label and is not basket-funded for it. Never let a patient forgo preservation believing protection is covered.
Step 8: Work rights during treatment
8a. Sick leave and job protection
- Sick leave: see Step 3e for the narrow day-1 rule.
- Non-discrimination and accommodations: the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law, 1998, section 8 bars discrimination in hiring, conditions, promotion, training, dismissal and severance, and defines discrimination to include failing to make the accommodations a disabled employee needs (
"הפליה" - לרבות אי-ביצוע התאמות הנדרשות מחמת צרכיו המיוחדים של אדם עם מוגבלות אשר יאפשרו את העסקתו). Section 8 has no employee-count threshold; the only limit is an excessive burden. It also extends to family members caring for a disabled person. Section 9 is a different duty, to promote proper representation, and that one applies only to an employer with more than 25 employees. Do not import the 25-employee threshold into the individual accommodation right. - Resignation because of illness: under Severance Pay Law section 6, resignation forced by illness counts as dismissal for severance.
- Escalation: Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities, *6763.
8b. Family sick days for cancer caregiving
These are not extra days. Statute lets the caregiver charge the absence על חשבון תקופת המחלה הצבורה שלו או על חשבון ימי החופשה המגיעים לו, לפי בחירת העובד -- their own accrued sick or vacation balance. The figures are annual ceilings on that balance, and the trigger is malignant disease or an illness requiring permanent dialysis generally, not cancer specifically. Both need at least one year with the employer.
- Spouse: up to 60 days/year (Sick Pay Act (Absence Due to Spouse's Illness), 5758-1998, section 1a).
- Parent of a child under 18: up to 90 days/year, or 110 where the employee is a sole caregiver, a single parent, or has sole custody (Sick Pay Act (Absence Due to a Child's Illness), 5753-1993, section 1a).
Days taken under the general 6-to-8-day rules count toward these ceilings.
Step 9: NGOs and support services
Never say "contact an NGO" without naming one. See references/ngos-and-support-services.md.
| Focus | Organisation |
|---|---|
| All cancers, all ages; transport, wigs, lodging, rights desk | ICA (Israel Cancer Association) https://www.cancer.org.il/, Telemeda 1-800-599-995 |
| Pediatric | Gdolim Mehachayim https://gdolim.org.il/, Chaim Association https://www.hayim.org.il/, Zichron Menachem https://zichron.org/ |
| Young adults | Halasartan https://www.stop-cancer.co.il/ |
| Breast | One in Nine https://www.onein9.org.il/ |
| Hereditary carriers | Bracha Association + ICA BRCA https://www.cancer.org.il/subcategories/brca/ |
| Blood cancers | Chalil HaOr https://halil.org.il/ |
| Marrow registry, lodging | Ezer Mizion https://ezermizion.org/ |
| Rights representation | Patients' Rights Association https://www.patients-rights.org/ |
| Free leftover medication | Friends for Health https://www.haverim.org.il/ |
| Equipment loans | Yad Sarah |
Agent notes: Bracha's homepage 404s -- verify via Guidestar. Road to Recovery (theroadtorecovery.org.il) is not Israeli cancer transport; it transports Palestinian patients.
Step 10: Experimental, off-label and unregistered treatments
"Compassionate use", "Form 29c", "off-label" and "expanded access" are not interchangeable, and the wrong one wastes weeks. Full reference: references/experimental-and-off-label-treatments.md.
10.1 Form 29c (Form 29c) -- individual import of an unregistered drug
Under regulation 29(c) of the Pharmacists Regulations (Preparations), 5746-1986, the importer's responsible pharmacist files; the physician signs the clinical justification. It is an import permit, NOT funding.
10.2 Compassionate use (compassionate treatment) and off-label
compassionate treatment is a free manufacturer supply with MOH pre-approval, and not a right (לא קיימת חובה לספק). Off-label use of a drug registered here for another indication is legal; the basket generally does not fund it, so the exceptions committee is the main public route. Supplementary off-label clauses differ per tier: read the regulations.
10.3 Clinical trials
The Helsinki committee is research ethics, NOT the HMO exceptions committee. Search MyTrial (MOH) and ClinicalTrials.gov. The sponsor pays for the investigational drug. Post-trial access is not automatic and no published entitlement guarantees it: settle it in writing with the principal investigator before signing consent.
10.4 Decision tree
The route-by-situation table (basket, exceptions committee, off-label, Form 29c, compassionate treatment, trial) is in references/experimental-and-off-label-treatments.md, section "Decision tree".
10.5 Treatment abroad funded by the basket
Governed by National Health Insurance Regulations (Health Services in Foreign Countries), 5755-1995. Covered when both: the insured cannot receive the treatment or a reasonable alternative in Israel, AND it is life-saving. Permitted fields include tumours explicitly, subject to a ceiling of USD 250,000. Apply to the HMO; on refusal, appeal to its internal appeals committee.
The regulations fund the medical treatment. Flights, accommodation, food and an escort are not part of the statutory entitlement. Where they are covered it is under a SHABAN plan, so check the tier and do not attribute them to the 1995 regulations.
10.6 Proton therapy and CAR-T
There is no routinely funded proton-therapy service in Israel, and CAR-T is delivered at several major centres. Status changes fast: verify with the treating hospital. Details in references/health-basket-and-hmo-coverage.md, sections 8-9.
Step 11: Advance directives (Dying Patient Law, 2005)
Advance medical directives (advance medical directives) become operative only when both (a) the patient is defined as terminally ill with under six months' life expectancy and (b) capacity is lost. Registered with the Ministry of Health. The right time is before capacity loss, typically when starting late-line treatment. LILACH (LILACH) https://www.lilach.org.il/living_will/ and Ematai https://www.ematai.org/netivotil/ help with the paperwork. Coordinate with the social worker and the palliative team (Step 6).
Examples
Example 1: Newly diagnosed adult, chemo next week
- Today: the oncology social worker.
- Social worker files 50% special services on documents if the regimen is on the IV list (2).
- Check Section 9(5) (3d), sick pay (3e), fertility preservation (7), travel reimbursement and parking exemption (3g).
- Call ICA Telemeda 1-800-599-995 for transport and rights help.
- If a drug is not in the basket: check the SHABAN tier (5b), prepare the exceptions package (5a). On refusal note which clock started: 60 days general disability, 90 days special services (3f).
Example 2: Pediatric diagnosis
- Pediatric oncology social worker first.
- disabled child allowance at 235% = ₪9,126 during chemotherapy, still 235% for the first month after it ends, then 100% = ₪3,820 for five months (3c).
- Parent sick days: up to 90/year from the parent's own accrued balance, 110 if sole caregiver (8b). NGOs and fertility preservation before treatment starts (7, 9).
Example 3: HMO refused a drug
- Get the written refusal, then build the exceptions package (5a).
- Check the SHABAN tier and read its takanon PDF for the actual cap (5b).
- Escalate: internal appeals committee, MOH Commissioner, then a Labour Court interim order if life is at stake.
- A second opinion is a statutory right on the basic basket (5b). Patients' Rights Association and One in Nine (03-602-1717 ext 2) assist with representation.
Examples 4-6
Worked examples for colorectal cancer with a stoma, head and neck cancer starting radiation, and a BRCA carrier without a diagnosis are in references/cancer-type-equity-rights.md section 12.
Bundled Resources
references/bituach-leumi-oncology-rights.md-- nechut, special services, disabled child, tax, appeals.references/health-basket-and-hmo-coverage.md-- basket, exceptions committee, SHABAN.references/cancer-type-equity-rights.md-- per-cancer-type entitlements, worked examples.references/exceptions-committee-precedents-and-appeals.md-- escalation, package assembly.references/experimental-and-off-label-treatments.md-- 29c, compassionate, off-label, trials, abroad.references/sherum-committee-preparation.md-- ADL mapping, document checklist.references/ngos-and-support-services.md-- NGO list and contact channels.
Recommended MCP Servers
Kolzchut for rights articles, Israel Drugs for basket status and indications, IL Health for MOH and HMO data, Israel Medical Research for Israeli oncology research.
Gotchas
- Never send an active-treatment patient to book a committee. The 50% special services rate is granted on documents for six months if the regimen is on the IV list.
- A second opinion is a statutory right for every patient (Patient Rights Law section 7). שב"ן adds funding and choice of consultant, not the right. The opposite claim is wrong.
- The appeal windows differ: 60 days for general disability, 90 days for special services, to a different body. Sources giving one number for both are wrong.
- Caregiver sick days come out of the caregiver's own accrued balance. 60/90/110 are ceilings, not a separate budget.
- The 25-employee threshold belongs to section 9 (representation), not to the individual accommodation right under section 8, which has no size threshold.
- Arnona is up to 80% with a full pension, up to 40% on medical disability alone, and the municipality sets the rate.
- Do NOT equate "Form 29c approved" with "the HMO will pay", confuse compassionate treatment with a clinical trial, confuse the Helsinki committee (experiments) with the exceptions committee (funding), or promise post-trial drug access.
- Do NOT cite a court case, law section, form number or shekel figure you have not verified. In oncology a fabricated entitlement is the worst thing this skill can produce.
Reference Links
Troubleshooting
- "Bituach Leumi denied my claim" -- appeal in writing: 60 days to the medical appeals committee (general disability), 90 days to the appeals committee for special services (special services). Yad Mechuvanet (*2496) prepares claimants free. Strengthen with the oncologist's functional assessment, an occupational-therapy report, and documentation of worst-case days.
- "My drug is not in the basket and the HMO refused" -- run 5a and 5b in parallel, and read the takanon PDF rather than trusting a remembered cap.
- "I am over 41 and want to preserve fertility" -- Step 7; the HMO fertility unit can discuss private or SHABAN options without delaying treatment.
- "My employer pressured me to resign" -- Step 8a, document in writing, escalate to the Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities (*6763).