| Jerusalem ID Card: No Condition for Eligibility to State Health Services Confronted with the fact that Palestinian families who could not register their children with the Interior Ministry were also unable to obtain state health insurance, the Association of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) intervened at the Israeli Ministry of Health and the National Insurance Institute (NII) [see ARTICLE 74/16]. A senior NII official clarified in his written response to PHR that - as in the case with public education - there is no direct connection between registration at the Interior Ministry and eligibility for state health insurance. The only criteria set by the Israeli NII is actual residence within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. The latter is determined based on field investigations conducted in each individual case by the NII field investigators [A. Mena, NII Senior Branch Director to PHR, 14/8/96].
Although this official policy is good news for parents of unregistered Palestinian children who have been unaware of their right to state health insurance, the problem is not yet resolved. This is because NII field investigations are a lengthy procedure and a final NII decision with regard to a family’s application for health insurance may take years - years in which health services are crucial for a young child. Consequently, PHR has decided to continue its intervention aiming at obtaining an official concession to provide health insurance during the period of investigation. If a viable compromise cannot be achieved, PHR is considering taking this case to court. |
