What Is Israeli Medical Tourism?

Many visitors from other countries arrive in Israel to undergo preplanned medical treatments or operations, often making use of special technology, expertise, and/or insurance coverage found in Israel. Approximately 30,000 medical tourists arrive in Israel each year, according to the Ministry of Tourism. The majority of medical tourism visitors arrive from Cyprus, Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern European countries.

All medical tourism in Israel must comply with the Medical Tourism Law passed by the Knesset on July 18, 2018. This law regulates the actions and requirements of Medical Tourism Agents (MTAs) as well as Medical Institutions (MIs) that provide services to medical tourists.

The Role of the Medical Tourism Agent

Under this law, the Ministry of Health is authorized to register the position of an MTA, which can be applied for by individuals, businesses, and corporations alike. The role of an MTA is to be a liaison or “middle man” between the medical tourist and the MI provider, facilitating all communications and arrangements. MTAs are bound by patient confidentiality. If an MTA is approved, this position is valid for four years, and can be extended in certain circumstances.

The Role of the Medical Institution

In order for a MI to be authorized to provide healthcare services to medical tourists, the Institution’s main operations must be to provide medical treatment to patients who are not medical tourists. As well, an MI that provides services to medical tourists must not give special priority to these patients, and must conduct their accounting separately for medical tourists and other patients.

According to the Law, in order for an MI to extend an invitation to a medical tourist for services, the invitation must be in writing and contain the following information:1) Tentative diagnosis that must be confirmed or negated, specification of required tests, and details regarding documents on which the tentative diagnosis is based; 2) Details regarding the proposed care in accordance with the tentative diagnosis, as well as potential significant risks associated with the proposed medical care; 3) Prognosis for success of the offered medical care.

Medical tourism is recognized by the State of Israel and regulated under the aforementioned provisions.

How Can A Lawyer Help?

There are several stages in the process in which it would be wise to hire a lawyer. For example, any and all legally binding agreements between an individual and a medical institution, and/or a medical tourism agent, should be reviewed by an experienced attorney.

As well, an immigration lawyer can help acquire any special visas for the foreign parties traveling to Israel, help extend visas should they expire, and/or help overturn a rejected visa in the unfortunate event that this occurs.

Furthermore, if your application is denied, an attorney can help overturn such a decision and aid in facilitating the approval of a planned procedure. Please do not hesitate to contact Advocate Joshua Pex for legal assistance in medical tourism.