Treasurer Moshe Kahlon and Health Minister Yaakov Litzman reached agreement, Monday, to increase the basket of subsidized medical expenses by 200 million shekels, according to Channel 2 Television. The money for the increase will come from a special levy on complementary and private insurance. The NIS 300 million budget provided by the state is down 24 percent from the last budget.
The new basket includes 83 new drugs. In addition to advanced cancer treatments, the drugs include breakthrough medications for jaundice and Hepatitis C. More than a thousand patients had to do without those drugs last year.