Healthcare in Tel Aviv: health funds, private cover and why your GHIC stays in the drawer

Israeli healthcare is very good, but how you get it depends on your status: Israeli residents join a health fund, and almost everyone else needs to pay for private cover.

The short version

• The NHS, the GHIC and the S1 don't cover you in Israel. The UK's only health agreement with Israel is a narrow one for industrial accidents [1][3].
• Israeli residents, including new immigrants and citizens, are covered by the national health insurance scheme through one of four health funds (kupot holim), paid for by a health tax collected by Bituach Leumi [1][4].
• If you're here on a work or other temporary visa and the national scheme doesn't apply to you, you need private cover. Some health funds sell schemes for exactly this group [1][7].
• For an ambulance, ring 101 (Magen David Adom). Home Front Command is 104 [1].
• The FCDO warns that hospitals insist on payment and may stop you leaving Israel until bills are paid [2].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = ILS 4.3162).

No NHS, no GHIC, no S1

Back home in Blighty, you're entitled to NHS care because you live there. Move to Tel Aviv and that link goes, and nothing from the UK follows you out.

• The GHIC works in the EEA, Switzerland (for some people), Australia, Montenegro and a handful of British territories. Israel isn't on the list, and the NHS stresses that the card isn't a replacement for insurance anyway [3].
• The S1, which pays for State Pensioners' care in Europe, doesn't apply in Israel either. The FCDO says the UK has only "a limited agreement" with Israel, covering industrial accidents for people entitled to industrial injuries benefits, which "only applies in rare circumstances" [1].
• Travel insurance isn't meant for people who live abroad. The FCDO points residents towards private medical insurance for UK expats, or local insurers [1].

The FCDO is blunt about the cost of getting this wrong: healthcare in Israel "is not free", treatment can be expensive, and hospitals "may take legal action to delay departure until bills are settled" [1][2]. For more on the UK side, see our guide to the NHS when you live abroad.

Who gets public healthcare in Israel

Israel's system is built on the National Health Insurance Law. Every resident must belong to one of four health funds: Clalit, Maccabi, Meuhedet or Leumit. Each must provide the same state-defined basket of care, and Bituach Leumi (the National Insurance Institute) collects a health tax from residents and passes it to the funds [4]. Think of the funds as competing GP practices, clinics and pharmacies rolled into one.

Being in or out depends on your status, not your passport:

The FCDO confirms that if you also hold Israeli citizenship you're eligible for a health fund, and that Bituach Leumi doesn't provide welfare benefits to non-Israeli nationals, though people on work permits may still have to pay social security contributions [1]. If you're not sure where you fall, ask Bituach Leumi before you assume you're covered.

What residents pay

For employees, the health tax comes straight off your payslip. From 1 January 2026 it's 3.23% on monthly earnings up to ILS 7,703 (about £1,785) and 5.17% on the slice above that, up to a ceiling of ILS 51,910 (about £12,000) [4]. A resident with no income at all pays a minimum health contribution of ILS 123 a month (about £28) [5].

That buys the state basket: GP visits, specialists, hospital care, tests and medicines on the approved list, with some co-payments. Most residents also buy their fund's supplementary plan for extras such as faster private surgery and cheaper dental care. Our guide to kupat holim and choosing a health fund compares the options.

Israelis coming home: the waiting period

If you're an Israeli citizen who's spent years in Britain, you may face a wait before your cover restarts. Under Section 58 of the National Health Insurance Law, people who lived abroad for two or more years since 1 March 2001 without paying health insurance for 12 months or more wait one month for each year abroad from November 2008 (two months for years before that), up to a maximum of six months [6]. You can cancel the wait by paying Bituach Leumi ILS 16,860 (about £3,900) at the 2026 rate [6]. Israeli citizens born abroad and returning minors are exempt [6].

Foreign residents: private cover and health fund schemes

If the national scheme doesn't apply to you, you have two main routes.

A health fund's scheme for non-residents. Maccabi runs Wellcome, which is open to people living legally in Israel who aren't covered by the national law: foreign citizens, family members of Israelis waiting for residency, and returning residents in their waiting period [7]. Joining depends on medical underwriting, and monthly fees go by age. For October to December 2026 they are [7]:

You pay the first four months up front, and Maccabi may add a loading for existing conditions [7]. From 1 January 2026 new Wellcome members can no longer join Maccabi's supplementary plans, only its nursing care insurance [7].

International health insurance. This is the usual choice for people on employer packages, and for anyone who wants cover that follows them if they leave Israel. Before you sign, check:

1. Evacuation and repatriation. The FCDO specifically says to make sure you're covered for medical evacuation to the UK [1].
2. Exclusions. Read the wording on war, terrorism and civil unrest closely, given the security situation.
3. Direct billing. Ask whether the insurer settles bills with Tel Aviv hospitals directly, or whether you pay and claim back.
4. Portability. The FCDO suggests checking whether cover can move with you if you relocate again [1].
5. Your employer's policy. Find out exactly what it covers and whether your partner and children are on it.

Seeing a doctor in Tel Aviv

Finding an English speaker

English is widely spoken by Tel Aviv's doctors, many of whom trained or worked abroad.

• The FCDO list. The British Embassy keeps a list of English-speaking medical providers in Israel, linked from the Living in Israel guide [1].
• Your health fund. The funds run English-language phone lines and apps; ask for an English-speaking family doctor when you register.
• Other Brits. A recommendation from someone in Florentin or the Old North who's already sorted is often the quickest route.

Emergencies and hospitals

The FCDO's Living in Israel guide lists Israel's emergency numbers [1]:

• 101: ambulance (Magen David Adom)
• 100: police
• 102: fire brigade
• 104: Home Front Command

The travel advice's health page gives 100 for an ambulance in Israel when we checked on 7 November 2026, while the Living in Israel guide gives 101 [1][2]. Magen David Adom's own site lists 101 as its emergency number [9], so 101 is the one to ring for an ambulance; 100 is the police, who can pass the call on.

The city's main public hospital is the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, known to everyone as Ichilov, whose emergency department runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year [8]. Your health fund also runs urgent care centres for evenings and weekends, which are often quicker for things that aren't life-threatening. If you're privately insured, ring your insurer as soon as you're referred for treatment, as the FCDO advises [2].

Before you leave the UK

• Sort cover first. Have your health fund place or insurance policy agreed before you land, with no gap.
• Medicines. Bring a supply and copies of prescriptions. For rules on bringing medication into Israel, the FCDO points to the Israeli Ministry of Health or the Israeli Embassy in London [1].
• Records. Ask your GP surgery for a copy of your records and tell them you're moving abroad.
• Safety. When we checked on 7 November 2026, the FCDO travel advice (still current at 7 November 2026, updated 27 October 2026) advised against all travel to parts of Israel and all but essential travel to others, and told people to follow Home Front Command instructions when sirens sound [2]. Our guide to safety in Tel Aviv covers alerts and shelters.

Found a brilliant English-speaking GP near Dizengoff or a dentist in Ramat Aviv? Share it in our community group for Brits in Israel.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Israel and Palestine (last updated 14 November 2024, checked 7 November 2026)
2. GOV.UK (FCDO): Israel travel advice, Health (updated 27 October 2026, still current at 7 November 2026)
3. NHS: Apply for a free UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC)
4. Bituach Leumi: Insurance contributions for salaried employees (rates from 1 January 2026)
5. Bituach Leumi: Contributions for non-working people (rates from 1 January 2026)
6. Nefesh B'Nefesh: Health insurance for returning citizens (updated January 2026)
7. Maccabi: Wellcome, healthcare for non-residents (fees for October to December 2026)
8. Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov)
9. Magen David Adom: Emergency 101 (checked 11 November 2026)

Keep reading

• Kupat holim: choosing a health fund in Israel
• Moving to Tel Aviv as a Brit: visa and residence routes
• Teudat zehut, Bituach Leumi and your first month in Israel
• The NHS when you live abroad (and the S1 for pensioners in the EU)