After two days of discussions, Israel's Medications Basket Committee published on Frirday morning the list of new drugs which will be incorporated into the government-subsidized "basket" in 2018.
The Committee's budget for 2018 stands at 460 million NIS ($132,705,400), and an additional 40 million NIS ($11,539,600) were earmarked for dental health.
The new medications list was submitted to Israeli Prime Minister and Temporary Health Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. It includes 106 medications and medical technologies and will aid over 70,000 patients.
Among the medications added to the list are new drugs to treat pulmonary embolism,venous thrombosis, and lung diseases, as well as several additional cancer medications and an innovative treatment for multiple myeloma, as well as the "Spinraza" medication for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophies, and an innovative medication for cystic fibrosis.
A rare form of leukemia claims the most expensive medication added to the basket: For the fifteen patients currently using "Rydapt" in Israel, the Israeli government is expected to shell out 21,388,000 NIS ($6,171,721).
2018's new medical "basket" will also include genetic testing for those diseases most common in each sector of society, as well as new diabetes medications and advanced technology for daily monitoring of blood sugar levels.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, "Our government is doing very important things for the health of Israeli citizens, as well as, obviously, for the security of the State of Israel. We will soon move on to the 2019 budget, working to ensure our coalition continues until the end of its term in November 2019."