Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Sarel Medical Company Monopoly Brings Hospitals to Brink of Collapse

By Moshe Feiglin

A discussion was supposed to have been held last week in the Knesset’s Labor, Welfare and Health Committee on the unholy alliance between the Sarel medical company and the Health Ministry. Health Ministry Chief Dr. Gimzo requested a postponement of the discussion so that he could attend. Now it turns out that this was not an innocent request: In the interim, Sarel received an exemption from a 1.6 billion shekel semi-annual tender. The Sarel exemption from the Health Ministry’s tender was actually the topic of the scheduled committee meeting that I had initiated. Apparently, Sarel wanted the exemption so that it could present the MKs on the Health Committee with a done deal. This is a direct continuation of the mafia-like conduct of Sarel, which empties the hospital coffers, as I will reveal tomorrow when the Committee convenes.
If the data that I will reveal tomorrow is correct, this episode will force senior officials in the Health Ministry to take personal responsibility for the misconduct. On the surface, it also seems that the cumulative savings from ending the monopoly that Sarel enjoys over the medical market through its exemption from the tender, will cover the deficit of the government-run hospitals in just a few years.

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