Healthcare Reimbursement in Israel: Who Pays for What Depending on Your Situation

Reimbursement in Israel combines up to three levels. The first is the health funds’ basket of services, reserved for residents (see the guide to the Israeli healthcare system). The second brings together supplements: supplementary fund insurance, private insurance or employer cover. The third is French: continued membership of the French scheme for a seconded employee, the CFE or international insurance.

Residence status, more than nationality, determines the main level: type A visas can open resident status, whereas type B visas (tourist, foreign worker) remain excluded from this recognition (Bituach Leumi). The guide to healthcare reimbursement abroad complements this reading.

A new immigrant registers with a health fund at the airport and gains access to the basket of services; the waiting period for returning residents is detailed in the guide to the Israeli healthcare system. For people with no activity or on a low income, the health contribution is suspended for up to 6 months (12 months with the income support allowance) and national insurance for up to 12 months, automatically. A new immigrant also gets a 50% reduction on the quarterly co-payment ceiling for one year (Ministry of Aliyah and Integration).

Each family member living in Israel, spouse and children included, registers with a health fund: cover is individual.

Local employee: as soon as they work in Israel, outside a secondment, the employee comes under Israeli social security legislation and receives its benefits, as does their family living in Israel (CLEISS). They report their departure to the CPAM (the local health insurance office), the CAF (the family allowances office) and France Travail (the French employment agency). Before leaving, form SE 207-02 lets them rely on their French insurance periods for Israeli maternity benefits. An employee on a B/1 visa checks the cover provided by the employer, detailed on the page on working in Israel.

Seconded employee: the employer keeps the seconded employee in the French scheme; they keep health insurance and cover for care received in Israel, with no extra contribution. They pay up front and send their paid invoices with form S 3125c to their fund; dependants who accompany them follow the same procedure, those who stayed in France contact the fund they are affiliated to. The sick-leave notice goes within 48 hours. As prices may exceed those in France, the CLEISS advises reviewing your top-up policy (guide to seconded or expatriate).

Self-employed: the 1965 agreement covers employed workers, whereas the Israeli scheme also covers the self-employed (CLEISS). A resident self-employed person comes under a health fund, with contributions paid directly to Bituach Leumi (rates on the page on working); without resident status, the CFE or international insurance takes over.

The France-Israel agreement contains no provision allowing care in Israel to be reimbursed on the basis of a French pension (CLEISS). A retiree who makes aliyah comes under the Israeli fund like any resident. The other options are voluntary membership of the CFE or private insurance.

For temporary stays in France, a pension holder with at least 15 years of insurance in France and no professional activity is covered; hospitalisation beyond one month requires prior recognition. This provision applies to the pensioner and their minor children: the spouse needs travel insurance. Outside tax residence in France, a health contribution of 3.2% on the basic pension and 4.2% on the supplementary pension is levied if the insured person falls under a French scheme; the page on retiring in Israel details the situation.

Student: the Israeli consulate asks for international medical insurance in the A/2 visa file, valid for up to one year and prohibiting work (Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Recognition as a resident, possible for type A visas, depends on the centre of life (Bituach Leumi). The CFE offers a plan for those under 30 (JeunExpat Santé), with reimbursement of about 70% of the rates approved in France; the guide to student insurance compares the offers.

Spouse and children: the spouse of a seconded employee who accompanies them follows the same S 3125c procedure; that of a resident local employee registers with their fund. The family that stayed in France benefits from no health coordination under the agreement: it contacts the CPAM for its place of residence (CLEISS). The family guide details children’s cover.

The CFE offers voluntary membership of the French scheme, with no medical questionnaire. Membership before departure or within three months of settling gives immediate cover; otherwise, the waiting period is 3 months, raised to 6 months from age 45. Abroad, reimbursements are calculated by country and by procedure, as a percentage or a flat rate applied to actual costs (see CFE reimbursements).

International health insurance at first euro reimburses actual costs within the contract’s ceilings, including dental, optical and a private room depending on the plan; the medical questionnaire and exclusions should be read before signing. A tourist comes under a type B visa, excluded from resident status, and the French embassy reminds readers that the French state covers no medical costs abroad: a bank card may cover hospitalisation for a stay of under 90 days, subject to contractual conditions.

On return, universal health coverage (PUMa, the French residence-based health cover) requires stable residence (more than 3 months) that is lawful, except in situations exempt from this period, notably on resuming work (service-public.fr). Gathering before departure the cancellation certificate from the Israeli body, the career statement and civil-status documents speeds up the processing of the file.

The CFE’s JeunExpat plan provides automatic reinstatement in the general scheme on return, with no delay. To prepare this step, see the guide to returning to France and return-to-France insurance.

• Consultation: general practice and specialists are in the basket; a co-payment applies to specialists and outpatient centres, with a quarterly ceiling per family and a 50% reduction for olim for one year.
• Hospital stay: covered by the basket for an insured person (CLEISS); a non-resident pays the costs, hence the value of international insurance (see the Israel country guide).
• Medicines: official Ministry of Health list, with an out-of-pocket share of up to 15% (CLEISS).
• Dental: children from birth to 18 benefit from prevention with no co-payment (annual check-up, scaling, fluoride, sealants) and from conservative care with a co-payment; orthodontics remains excluded (Ministry of Health). For adults, targeted provisions exist for seniors (see the page on retirement); the rest is covered by a supplement or international insurance.
• Optical: absent from the list of the basket detailed by the CLEISS (consultations, specialists, medicines, tests, children’s dental care, hospitalisation, ambulance); it comes under supplements.
• Maternity: maternity hospitalisation is in the basket; national insurance pays 15 weeks of maternity leave subject to a contribution condition (CLEISS, January 2025 scale). Expavy compares maternity cover through the diagnostic.