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If you have done him much
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eyes. If he has done you a
little good, let it be great in
your eyes. If he has done you
a great wrong, let it be little
in your eyes.—Fathers Ac-
cording To Rabbi Nathan.
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16—Friday, Nov. 8, 1974
Israel's Twisted Health Organization
By UZI BENZIMAN
(Copyright 1974, JTA, Inc.)
JERUSALEM—Israeli pub-
lic opinion was aroused
recently by disclosures about
unofficial private practice by
physicians in public hospi-
tals. The disclosures exposed
twisted procedures in the
health services which have
existed for years without any
objections on the part of the
authorities.
The furore was exacerbat-
ed on Oct. 22 by the resigna-
tion of the Health Ministry's
director-general, the eminent
physician Baruch Padeh, 64.
In \his letter to the Health
Minister, Padeh hinted that
public.criticism: of the health
services, and the lapses ex-
posed in medical ethics, had
prompted him to resign.
All hospitals in Israel —
with two exceptions are pub-
lic. About half of them are
governmental hospitals and
most of the others belong to
the Kupat Holim (Histadrut
Health Fund) network. There
are also a few hospitals
which belong to public asso-
ciations. All the hospitals are
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financed by public funds;
most of them come from the
government treasury. This
system of public hospitals
ostensibly guarantees equal
service for all.
Most of the Israeli popu-
lation is covered by health
insurance. About 7 per cent
of Israeli residents are mem-
bers of the Histadrut Health
Fund. They pay quite high
dues every month, which
should exempt them from any
additional expense when they
require health services.
But this principle does not
apply in practice. Many
people do not rely on the phy-
sicians whom the health in-
surance organizations offer.
In any case of serious ill-
ness, they turn to a private
doctor, paying him high fees
without being compensated
by the health fund. ft
People continue their mem-
bership in the health funds
because they wish to be in-
sured in case of hospitaliza-
tion rates are very high, and
membership in any health
insurance organization covers
hospital bills. In urgent and
acute caseswhen hospitali-
zation is needed—the patient
is hospitalized without delay,
getting quite good profes-
sional treatment with all ex-
penses paid by the health
fund he belongs to.
However, there are some
shortcomings here too. Where
surgery is required the pa-
tient cannot choose the sur-
geon. Frequently the patient
or his family will pay a pri-
vate surgeon of their choice,
without being compensated
by the health fund.
When a commonplace or
non-emergency operation is
required, the situation is dif-
ferent. Members of the health
funds who suffer from her-
nia or another non-serious
ailment find it difficult to be
hospitalized _ if they follow of-
ficial procedure. Very often
these people
to wait
years until they are admitted
to a hospital. They are forced
to live with their illness and
suffer from it. On the other
hand, if these people apply
privately to -the hospital, phy-
sicians or surgeons—and pay
them handsomely — they are
admitted immediately. Such
private patients must pay not
only their physicians but also
for the use of the hospital
facil ft)* s, notwithstand-
ing their membership in pub-
lic health insurance funds to
which they pay 'high dues for
free medical treatment. Be-
cause of deep-rooted and
long-prevailing irregularities,
they db not get the treatment
they require unless they be-
come private patients.
The unofficial — though
well-known — procedure of
private practice in public and
government hospitals has
other manifestations. One of
them was recently exposed
at Hadassah Hospital in Jer-
usalem. Prof. Avraham
Hochmann, head of the Un=
cological Department was in-
vestigated by police and by
the income tax authorities for
suspected tax evasion. Dur-
ing the investigation the pub-
lic was informed that the
Ethics Committee of Hadas-
hah Hospital had decided to
suspend Prof. Hochman
after he was accused of ex-
torting money from his pa-
tients and their families. Bel-
-
atives of deceased cancer pa-
tients alleged that Prof.
Hochman would harass them
with demands for huge
amounts of money while the
patients were hospitalized' in
his department. Prof, Hoch-
mann is alleged to have de-
manded fees even for short
conversations with the rel-
atives of his patients.
The case of Prof. Hoch-
man which probably will go
to court, reflects some gen-
eral phenomena. In Israeli
public hospitals, private me-
dical practice is flourishing.
The principle of giving equal
treatment to all is not al-
ways fulfilled. Those who
have more money often get
much better treatment.
This would be legitimate
where private medical prac-
tice is official or where pri-
vale hospitals or private de-
partments were built by pri-
vate funds. But unofficial
payments of health services
are unacceptable when they
are used in public hospitals
where every patient sup-
posedly is entitled to the
same treatment. The health
authorities including Health
Minister Victor Shemtov and
the heads of many hospitals
have come under bitter pub-
lic attack as the press and
the public discover a long
prevalent situation.
Board Offers Arab
Terror Fact Sheets
NEW YORK — A series_ of
weekly Fact Sheets on Arab
Terror, designed to provide
pupils, parents, and teachers
with information about the
current PLO situation, have
been prepared by the Board
of Jewish Education of
Greater New York.
Dr. Alvin I. Schiff, BJE
executive vice president,
said the fact sheets are
necessary to inform children
and parents as well as to
counteract Arab propaganda.
For • copies of the Fact
Sheets, contact Jacob Snyder,
administrator, Board of Jew-
ish Education, 426 West 58th,
New York, N.Y. 10019.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Israel Will Hold Down Tourist Cost
MONTREAL — Israel is
committed to the use of sub-
sidies to hold the line on
transportation and hotel costs
to a maximum 10-15 per cent
increase through 1976, ac-
cording to Hanoch Givton,
director general of the Israel
Ministry of Tourism.
Givton was heading a dele- -
gation representing the Israel
travel industry at the 44th
World Travel. Congress of the
American Society of Travel
Agents here.
The government's subsi-
In a century in which so
many of the mentors of the
public mind — from the psy-
chiatrists to the ad-men —
speak to-us in terms of "what
we owe to ourselves," may
there not indeed have been
a slackening of devotion com-
pared with those days, not
so long distant, when what
man owes to God and his
neighbor was a common
theme of public discourse?
— Adlai E. Stevenson
UP
TO
dies, according to one dele-
gate, amounts to a commit-
ment of over $20,000,000.
The final figure spent by the
government on the susidy be-
tween now and 1976 will
largely depend on the con-
tinuing rate of inflation.
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