My father is recovering from surgery in Israel and needs a hospital bed and a wheelchair. Can I arrange it from Australia?

The hospital wants the bed freed by Sunday, the discharge letter says the patient needs a variable-height bed and a hoist, and the family is in Melbourne. The first instinct is to look for the Israeli equivalent of a My Aged Care equipment loan through the health fund. For a resident that instinct is right. For a father who is a visitor, a returning citizen not yet re-registered, or a non-resident, it leads nowhere, and the hours spent discovering that are hours the discharge planner does not have.

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Detailed Answer

Section 3(a) of the National Health Insurance Law 5754-1994 confines entitlement to health services under the statutory basket to residents, and the health funds apply that boundary strictly to durable equipment. A kupat holim will not issue or subsidise a bed, a hoist or a customised wheelchair for a patient it does not insure, and the Ministry of Health participation scheme for rehabilitative equipment runs on the same residence test. The commercial alternative exists, and Israeli suppliers rent hospital beds and hoists by the month, but for a short recovery period the family is paying full rate for equipment it needs for six weeks. What fills the gap in Israel is not a government programme but an institution with no real equivalent abroad. Yad Sarah, founded in 1976 and staffed by more than 7,000 volunteers across upwards of 127 branches, holds roughly 300,000 items across some 300 categories of medical and rehabilitative equipment, and lends them without charge. Its own stated mission covers everyone in need, tourists included, and it does not run a residence test at the counter.

The practical mechanics are what a family abroad needs to know before it telephones. Equipment is lent free against a refundable deposit held until the item comes back, with a loan period of three months that can be extended, and a small number of items carry a modest monthly contribution instead: a lifting hoist is lent against a deposit of about NIS 500, and a hospital bed carries a symbolic monthly payment of about NIS 58 which covers insurance, warranty and preventive maintenance. Delivery and collection cost around NIS 300 for both directions, which for a bed and hoist going into a fourth-floor Jerusalem flat is money well spent. Orders can be placed online and delivered to the home, so nobody has to stand in a branch, but somebody in Israel must sign for the equipment and be responsible for returning it, and that person's identity document is what the branch records. Appoint that person deliberately rather than leaving it to whichever cousin happens to be at the hospital. There is a second Yad Sarah service that Australian families rarely find on their own: an accessible tourism department reachable at tour@yadsarah.org.il or +972-2-644-4618, which arranges airport pick-up, adapted transport and equipment for visitors with disabilities, and which is the right first call if you are flying in to manage the discharge yourself. For the wider picture on what a non-resident pays for treatment in Israel, see our answer on the cost of medical care in Israel for non-residents.

In Practice: Section 3(a) of the National Health Insurance Law 5754-1994 limits the funded basket to residents, so a kupat holim will not supply equipment to a non-resident patient. Yad Sarah, with more than 127 branches and over 7,000 volunteers, lends from a stock of roughly 300,000 items free of charge against a refundable deposit, for a loan period of three months with extension. A lifting hoist takes a deposit of about NIS 500, a hospital bed carries a symbolic NIS 58 per month including insurance and maintenance, and delivery both ways costs about NIS 300. Its accessible tourism desk is on +972-2-644-4618. Orders placed online are commonly delivered within one to three days, which fits a hospital discharge timetable.

When to Consult a Lawyer

• Your father's residence status in Israel is genuinely unclear, for example a returning citizen or a long-staying visitor. That status decides not only equipment but hospital billing, and it is better established before an invoice arrives than after.
• The discharge involves ongoing care rather than equipment alone, and somebody must be authorised to make decisions or handle money for him. An Australian enduring power of attorney does not operate automatically in Israel.
• The hospital is refusing discharge, or presenting the family with a bill on the assumption that a private payer is behind it. Both are negotiable, and both are easier to address in writing from Israel than by telephone from Melbourne.

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Speak With an Israeli Attorney

We establish your relative's status for billing purposes, put the right person in Israel formally in charge of the equipment and the discharge, and deal with the hospital where the account is disputed.

Contact us for a confidential initial consultation.