Health Ministry Reports Rise in Complaints Over Child Development Reform
The Israeli Ministry of Health reports a sharp rise in public complaints following a child development reform, amid criticism from lawmakers over halted wait-time data.
The Ministry of Health has published its Public Complaints Commission report for 2025, revealing an initial surge in grievances following the implementation of the child development reform. While the report itself covers the period before the reform took effect, the ministry acknowledges that ending private care reimbursements has already triggered longer wait times and public frustration.
Wait Times and Reform Fallout
Weeks prior to the report, it was revealed that Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov stated in a closed forum that wait times are no longer expected to drop and will not be published. This stance contrasts sharply with his earlier remarks in December 2025, where he pledged that the ministry would not hesitate to alter course if the reform stalled.
The commission noted that stopping reimbursements causes transitional delays, but insisted the measure is necessary to build a robust public healthcare system where all children receive care through their health maintenance organizations. One highlighted 2025 case involved a child on the autism spectrum whose HMO directed them to private care, a practice resolved only after commission intervention.
Parliamentary Scrutiny
"As far as this is the ministry's position, it is completely unacceptable. Children need actual solutions, and recruiting therapists does not exempt you from measuring availability," wrote Member of the Knesset Yoni Mashriki.
Following the disclosures, MKs Yoni Mashriki and Limor Son Har-Melech sent demanding letters to Minister of Health Haim Katz and Moshe Bar Siman-Tov. Lawmakers criticized the halt in monthly wait-time reporting, which violates previous committee directives requiring transparent data tracking as the reform progresses.
