Introduction:

An individual is considered to be chronically ill if he/she has one of the illnesses on the chronic illness list, or if he/she takes a medication regularly, as explained below.
For more information see the Ministry of Health website

The National Health Insurance Law established that chronically ill patients are entitled to a medication payment ceiling as part of the health funds' collection plans.

  • The ceiling is applicable to all of the medications the patient takes that are included in the basic healthcare basket, including those which are not for treating the chronic condition.
  • According to the Ministry of Health Circular a person is categorized as chronically ill if he/she meets one of the following three conditions:
    1. He/she is treated with regular monthly treatments with a medication that is on the list of medications listed below.
    2. He/she is sick with one of the illnesses on the list of conditions listed below.
    3. He/she receives one or more medications, prescribed by a doctor for at least 6 consecutive months.
  • For more information on additional rights for chronically ill patients and for a list of chronic illnesses listed on Kol Zchut, see the Chronic Illness portal.

List of Medications

  • A person treated with a regular, monthly treatment with one of the following medications is considered to be a chronically ill patient:
    • Medications to treat epilepsy
    • Anticoagulants (not including those who take aspirin preventatively)
    • Medications to treat diabetes
    • Antidepressants
    • Anti-manic agents
    • Antineoplastic agents
    • Antilipemic agents
    • Medications to treat Parkinson's disease
    • Medications to treat tuberculosis
    • Medications to treat heart patients
    • Diuretics
    • Blood pressure medications
    • Medications to treat pituitary gland insufficiency
    • Antiglaucoma agents
    • Thyroid and antithyroid agents
    • Vasodilating agents
    • Medications to prevent gastric ulcers

List of Conditions

  • One who is sick with one of the following conditions is considered to be a chronically ill patient:'
    • AIDS (HIV)
    • Addison's Disease
    • Crohn's disease or Colitis ulcerosa
    • Cystic Fibrosis (CF)
    • Dialysis patients
    • Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF)
    • Prostate hypertrophy
    • Hypo-parathyroidism
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Multiple Myeloma
    • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
    • Myasthenia Gravis
    • Wilson's Disease
    • Major Thalassemia
    • Organ donors and recipients after transplant
    • Gaucher's Disease
    • Chronic psychotic disorders
    • Malignant Neoplastic Disease (Cancer Patients)
    • Hemophilia
    • Chronic liver disease
    • Chronic congestive heart failure
    • Parkinson's Disease
    • Alzheimer's Disease
    • Chronic arthritis:
      • Rheumatoid arthritis
      • Psoriatic arthritis
      • Polymyalgia rheumatica
    • Degenerative joint diseases requiring regular treatment, osteoarthritis
    • Spondyloarthropathies:
      • Ankylosing Spondylitis
      • Reactive arthritis
      • Arthritis associated with inflammatory bowel diseases
      • Undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy
    • Chronic autoimmune diseases:
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
      • Anti-Phospholipid Syndrome
      • Systemic Sclerosis (Scleroderma)
      • Mixed Connective Tissue Disease
      • Polymyositis Dermatomyositis
      • Relapsing Polychondritis
      • Crystal Induced Arthritis (Chronic):
      • Gout
      • Calcium Pyrophosphate Dihydrate Deposition Diseases (CPPD):
    • Chronic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA):
      • JCA - Juvenile Chronic Arthritis, JIA - Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, JRA - Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis
      • Pauciarticular JIA or JRA
      • Polyaticular JIA or JRA
      • Systemic Onset (Still) JIA or JRA
      • Juvenile Spondyloarthropathy
    • Chronic Vasculitis:
      • Polyarteritis Nodosa
      • Microscopic Polyangiitis
      • Churg Strauss Vasculitis
      • Giant Cell Arteritis
      • Wegener's Granulomatosis
      • Takayasu Disease
      • Behcet Disease
    • Chronic systemic amyloidosis
    • Fibromyalgia requiring permanent medication
    • Ataxia-Telangiectasia (AT)
    • Familial Dysautonomia (FD)
    • Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
    • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
    • Psoriasis patients for whom one of the following applies:
      • Those receiving systemic treatment for their condition (including phototherapy or climatotherapy at the Dead Sea)
      • Those suffering from: Erythrodermic psoriasis, Generalized Pustular Psoriasis, Psoriasis of Hands and Feet, or Psoriasis in the Crotch impeding walking, or Severe Scalp Psoriasis.
      • Those suffering from soriatic arthritis requiring systemic treatment
    • Chronic lung disease, including:
      • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
      • Bronchial asthma
      • Chronic bronchitis
      • Emphysema
      • Bronchiectasis (as of 01.03.2019)
    • Pompes Disease
    • Hidradenitis suppurativa (as of 01.04.2016)
    • Retinal Vein Occlusion - RVO (as of 01.03.2019)
    • Age-related Macular Degeneration - AMD (as of 01.03.2019)
    • Mitochondrial diseases (as of 01.03.2019)
    • Neuro-muscular diseases:
      • Spinal Muscular Atrophy - SMA (as of 01.03.2019)
      • Dystrophy Muscular Duchenne (as of 01.03.2019)
      • Myopathy Nemaline (as of 01.03.2019)
      • Dystrophy Myotonic (as of 01.03.2019)
      • Syndrome Barré-Guillain (as of 01.03.2019)
      • Neurofibromatosis (as of 01.03.2019)
    • Any patient that need ventilation (invasive or non-invasive) for over 8 hours a day (as of 01.03.2019).
    • Any patient who needs a tracheotomy (as of 01.03.2019).

Aid Organizations

  • For a comprehensive categorized listing of healthcare organizations offering assistance and support to the chronically ill, click here.

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