Deputy Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman, who maintains administrative authority, reports the cabinet during the Sunday morning weekly meeting will discuss his bill aimed at providing Israeli children with free dental care until age eight. Litzman is aware that too many Israeli families cannot afford dental care and as a result, many children make their first trip to a dentist after complaining of pain due to an acute problem.

The deputy minister is seeking to implement the nationwide plan towards educating the children from a young age as to proper dental hygiene and making dental care affordable to all since kupat cholim HMOs do not cover dental care, while some do offer plans that provide discounted treatment.

Many members of the medical community are objecting to Litzman’s plan, accusing him of stealing funds from the national healthcare basket to fund this NIS 150 annual project, explaining that while they are not opposed to free dental care for children, this cannot be accomplished on the back of the chronically ill seeking drugs from the state healthcare basket.

The Litzman dental care plan will provide standard dental care for free while “more complicated” treatments will carry a maximum price tag of NIS 40. In response to his adversaries, Litzman stated “It won’t help. There will be free dental care for the children and it is as simple as that”.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)