Health Ministry report reveals long wait times for MRI, surgeries at hospitals and clinics

The Israeli Health Ministry released two reports detailing significant disparities in wait times for MRI scans and planned surgeries across public hospitals and clinics. In 2025, half of all patients waited up to 35 days for an MRI, with a quarter waiting over 80 days. Wait times varied considerably by health insurance provider, with Clalit members experiencing the longest average wait at 63.7 days, while Meuhedet members waited 35.5 days. Surgical wait times also showed wide variations; for instance, cataract surgery wait times ranged from 22 days at Laniado to 202 days at Carmel. Similarly, pediatric myringotomies saw delays of up to 129 days at Soroka, compared to seven days at Ichilov. Despite these internal discrepancies, the Health Ministry noted that Israel generally has shorter waiting times for major operations like cataract surgery, hip replacement, and knee replacement compared to the OECD average.