Ministers in the social-economic cabinet approved proposals for a neo-liberal psychiatric reform on Tuesday. The cabinet, headed by Justice Minister Yaakov Ne’eman, authorized the completion of action on the controversial proposals, which were presented by Deputy Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman (Ultra-Orthodox party -United Torah Judaism).
The reform, which was not sent to the Knesset, has been 17 years in the making by several health ministers, and will transfer responsibility for psychiatric treatment from the ministry to the four public health funds. The additional cost of providing these services – beyond what the ministry spent – is NIS 300 million a year, with the total state expenditure set at NIS 1.5 billion.
Former MK Gozansky during the last Communist Party of Israel Congress held in March 2012 (Photo: Al Ittihad)
Hadash MK Dov Khenin attacked the reform, saying it was improper that the government should bypass the Knesset by issuing orders. MK Khenin, who chairs the joint committee for environment and health, said this body had held numerous sessions on the government bill to privatize the psychiatric system by transferring it to the health funds. “We showed the many shortcomings of the bill, which allows the government to shed responsibility for treatment and supporting the mentally ill,” said.
He continued that over the years, the government “forced the mental health system to undergo a severe diet, a well-known technique to create a crisis so services can be privatized. It even reduced funding for the law for rehabilitation of the mentally disabled in the community, an impressive legislative and social achievement of my predecessor, former MK Tamar Gozansky from Hadash,” Khenin said. “Instead of using the conventional legislative process, the government has taken unilateral action to force the reform on the health system and the public. This is another example how this government is fighting society and destroying democracy.” He asked Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) and the Knesset legal adviser to investigate whether the procedure was legal.
The union of government workers in the social sciences and humanities, which represents public psychologists working in mental health services, said Litzman had “kidnapped psychiatric services.” It noted that Litzman had been opposed to the reform for years but then changed his mind and make the change before the elections using a state order. The union claimed that existing mental health services will be limited and some completely cancelled. In recent years, budgets and manpower have been reduced to make the service ripe for privatization.
