Every new immigrant and temporary resident is insured for health care under the National Health Insurance law by paying monthly premiums to the National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi). This entitles you to choose membership in one of the four health funds listed under “kuppot holim” .
All services within the government “Health Basket” (sal briut) are available to you regardless of age or previous medical history. This includes doctor visits, diagnostic and laboratory services, hospitalizations, pharmacies and more.
New immigrants receive a voucher along with their Teudat Oleh at the airport entitling them to six months free health insurance, if they are unemployed. It is important to sign up for one of the health funds as soon as possible after arrival so as to assure coverage for any medical situation which may arise.
Haifa has a full and rich array of medical services; many of the medical institutions are among the best in the country.
Three major teaching hospitals are located in Haifa:
- The Rambam Medical Center in Bat Galim, is a government hospital affiliated with the Technion, serving the north of Israel
- The Bnai Zion Medical Center is located between Hadar and the Carmel
- The Carmel Medical Center in Ahuza, which is affiliated with Clalit Health Services
There are also a number of smaller private medical facilities such as the Horev, Assuta, Linn and Elisha Medical Centers.
Family Health Clinics
There are 15 Family Health Clinics (Tipat Halav) run by the Ministry of Health. These clinics cater to pregnant women, mothers and infants. They attend to all women regardless of their health fund affiliation.
Tipat Halav services include birth and breast feeding counseling, physical examinations, routine developmental evaluations and home visits. In Ahuza the stations are at 1 Margalit St. and 52 Einstein St. and in Nave Sha’anan on 31 Maimon St. For other stations see Tipat Halav site (in Hebrew)
Kuppot Holim
All major Israel health funds operate in Haifa and provide all the services required – doctor visits, laboratory tests, MRI, psychological services, diabetic care, pharmacies, dieticians, surgeons, specialists, alternative medicine and more:
Yad Sarah – Medical Services
Yad Sarah is Israel’s largest national volunteer organization and has a sizable branch in Haifa – Neve David Hamelech 31, 04-838-2226
The organization provides essential services to help the sick and disabled including loans of medical equipment for every need and of every sort (i.e. hospital beds, wheelchairs, crutches, etc.), for free or for a nominal fee, to every applicant and relies on its very grateful beneficiaries and patrons for generous donations and support.
Bikur Rofeh
Bikur Rofeh provides out-of-hours medical services to the general public, during evenings/nights and weekends when regular clinics are closed, and has a 24/7 hotline for emergencies. Bikur Rofeh also offers doctor’s home visits which you can arrange online via their website (Hebrew) or by calling *6101. Bikur Rofeh accepts all major insurances and several smaller insurances, and charges a small fee for each visit, which is as follows:
- All Clalit Levels – 87 shekels
- All Macabi Levels – 87 shekels
- All Leumit Levels – 79 shekels
- All Meuchedit Levels – 84 shekels
The Haifa and Krayot Bikur Rofeh offer services such as: stitches, X-Ray, nursing services, blood tests, IV infusions, urine tests, EKG, glucose level tests, blood pressure tests, prescriptions, inhalation treatments, and trauma treatments.
Off-duty soldiers can take advantage of these services as well, and will not be charged for their visit. Please note that the wait times at the Bikur Rofeh can be rather long, so take something along to do to pass the time. The Bikur Rofeh for the Haifa area is located in the German Colony at Ben Gurion 17 (Map), and for those living in Kiryat Shmu’el or Kiryat Hayim there is a Bikur Rofeh located in the Kiryon Mall at 194 Derech Akko (Bialik City building next to the Shufersal) (Map).
