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Every Israeli resident is entitled to transfer from one health fund to another of their choice
Every Israeli resident is entitled to transfer from one health fund to another of their choice. The new fund must accept the member without any screening or discrimination based on age, financial status, or medical condition.
There are six fixed dates each year when a transfer from one health fund to another officially takes effect. You may switch health funds up to two times only within a 12-month period. Members are entitled to receive all services included in the Government Health Basket from their current health fund until the transfer to the new fund takes effect. Discharged soldiers may register with a different health fund before or shortly after their release from the army.
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Date of transfer request |
| 1/1 | 16/9-15/11 |
| 1/3 | 16/11-15/1 |
| 1/5 | 16/1-15/3 |
| 1/7 | 16/3-15/5 |
| 1/9 | 16/5-15/7 |
| 1/11 | 16/7-15/9 |
You can switch health funds either at Israel Post branches or through the National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi) website. At the post office, visit any branch in person and purchase a Health Fund Transfer Form. Fill out the form and submit it together with your Israeli ID card. Online, click the link to access the National Insurance Institute website. You will need a valid credit card in your name and must ensure you can print the confirmation generated by the system.
It’s important to provide an accurate address to ensure your registration is completed successfully. Newborns over two weeks old whose names have been updated in the Population Registry can be registered with a health fund. A baby or child can be registered only with the health fund in which one of their parents or legal guardians is a member.
Switching from one health fund to another does not affect your rights. You are entitled to receive all services included in the Government Health Basket from your current health fund until the transfer takes effect. Once the transfer becomes effective, your new health fund is responsible for providing you with all the services included in the basket.
Switching from one health fund to another does not harm the member’s rights. The member is entitled to receive all services included in the Government Health Basket from the fund from which they requested to transfer until the transfer takes effect. From that date onward, the member is entitled to receive all services included in the basket from the new fund.
When moving to a new health fund, the supplementary insurance (Shaban) in the previous fund ends. You may choose to join, if you wish, the supplementary insurance of the new fund. The new fund is not allowed to limit or prevent your joining the supplementary insurance, and under certain conditions, you may even be exempt from a waiting period in the new fund.
To maintain continuity of your rights, you must provide the new fund with a confirmation of seniority from the previous fund.
If you are moving from Leumit, you can obtain the confirmation through the personal area on the Leumit website or the Leumit mobile app.
Following a reform by the Ministry of Finance (Insurance Supervision Department), since July 1, 2016, all group long-term care insurance policies for members of the health funds are uniform and identical, including for members of Leumit Health Fund.
The definitions of a long-term care insurance case, division by age groups, and the level of benefits are determined by the Insurance Supervision Department at the Ministry of Finance and apply to all long-term care insurance policies of the health funds in Israel.
The new standardized insurance allows continuous insurance coverage in case of transfer between health funds (since January 1, 2017).
To maintain continuity of your insurance, you must provide the insurance company of the new fund with confirmation that you were insured in the previous fund and the age at which you joined the original insurance.
Your medical information is not automatically transferred to the new health fund. Before switching, you must take several actions:
Request a medical summary from your family doctor.
Ask the customer service representatives at the medical center where you are treated for a confirmation of seniority in the supplementary insurance, to transfer your rights.
Arrange your long-term care insurance with the provider of the health fund you are joining. Long-term care insurance for Leumit members is provided by Menora Mivtachim Insurance Company. You can click the link for more information about Leumit’s long-term care insurance.
A transfer between health funds can be canceled or expedited in the following cases:
Anyone who has registered to transfer to another health fund can cancel the transfer notice by submitting the appropriate request at a post office branch, as detailed below:
Deadline to submit cancellation request |
Effective transfer date |
| November 15 | January 1st |
| January 15 | March 1st |
| March 15 | May 1st |
| May 15 | July 1st |
| July 15 | September 1st |
| September 15 | November 1st |
After canceling a transfer notice, a new transfer notice may be submitted at any time. The new transfer will take effect on the next scheduled transfer date (according to the table above).
To submit this request, prepare the following documents:
A letter from your treating physician stating that the transfer would harm the continuity of your care.
A letter from you requesting to cancel your transfer between health funds due to a medical condition that requires continuous care.
These documents must be sent to the Ministry of Health by fax to 02-5655981, and you must confirm their receipt by calling *6800, Sunday–Thursday between 13:00 and 15:00.
