Before you start

Registered resident status — citizenship, a teudat oleh or recognised residency. B/1 holders, non-resident owners and visitors are excluded
Registration with Bituach Leumi, which triggers health-fund enrolment
A Teudat Zehut or, for olim, a temporary ID number
An Israeli payment method for contributions and the supplemental plan

Step-by-step

1
Register with Bituach Leumi
Public healthcare follows from registered residency. Olim are usually registered on landing; others register at the Netanya branch or online. This is also what applies the olim health-tax exemption for roughly the first six months.
In personWho: You, with Bituach LeumiImmediate for olim; 1–3 weeks for a change of status
2
Choose one of the four health funds
Every fund must accept you and provide the identical statutory basket, so compare clinics, apps and supplemental tiers rather than cover. In Netanya, ask specifically which local clinics have French- or Russian-speaking staff if that matters to you — the answer varies by fund and by neighbourhood.
OnlineWho: You, through Bituach LeumiFree; the basic basket is health-tax funded
3
Add the supplemental plan (bituach mashlim)
Almost every resident adds their fund's own supplemental tier for faster specialists, choice of surgeon, partial dental and overseas cover. It is a separate and much cheaper product than standalone commercial insurance.
Mobile appWho: Your kupahRoughly ₪50–150 a month
4
Register with a family doctor and learn the referral rule
Most specialist appointments require a hafnaya referral from your GP. Book and renew prescriptions through the fund's app. Copays are small with a quarterly ceiling.
Mobile appWho: You
5
Know where Laniado's scope ends
Laniado covers emergency, general medicine, surgery, obstetrics and a broad specialist range for a catchment of more than 450,000. It is not one of Israel's largest tertiary centres, and complex cases are referred to the big Tel Aviv-area hospitals about half an hour away. Ask your GP where your specific condition would be treated before you need the answer.
Mobile appWho: You
6
If you are on a B/1 or a visitor stamp: insure privately, properly
The Foreign Workers Law obliges a B/1 employer to provide private medical insurance. Non-resident property owners spending long stretches here have no such protection at all and must buy their own — and a travel policy is not the same thing as cover for a person who effectively lives somewhere half the year.
Via employerWho: Your employer, or you

Documents you’ll need

Teudat Zehut, or teudat oleh and temporary ID for new immigrants
Bituach Leumi registration confirmation
Proof of Netanya address for clinic assignment
Payment details for contributions and the supplemental plan
For B/1 holders and long-stay visitors: the private policy and its hospital network list

Things most newcomers don’t know

The long-stay non-resident is the person most exposed here, and Netanya has a lot of them.

A large number of people own Netanya flats and spend months at a time in them without being registered residents. They are outside the national health system entirely, and a travel insurance policy written for a fortnight is not designed for someone who is here half the year. This is the single most common uninsured-risk gap in this city, and it is invisible until an emergency department bill arrives.

Source: Bituach Leumi entitlement rules; community-reported

Ask which clinics have your language before you pick a fund, not after.

The four funds provide an identical legal benefits basket, so the differentiators are clinic location, app quality and the supplemental tier — and, in Netanya specifically, whether the nearest clinic has French- or Russian-speaking staff. That varies by fund and by neighbourhood, it is the kind of thing a local community group answers in a minute, and switching later is free but disruptive.

Source: Ministry of Health — National Health Insurance Law; community-reported

Laniado is a voluntary hospital with a specific institutional character.

It was founded by the Sanz Rebbe as part of the Kiryat Sanz community and operates within the national health system while retaining a religious institutional identity. That shapes some practices and, for anyone considering working there, the workplace culture. It is a good hospital serving a large catchment; it is simply not a neutral municipal institution and it is worth knowing that in advance.

Source: Laniado Hospital

The olim health-tax waiver ends without a reminder.

New immigrants with no or low income are typically exempt from health tax for roughly the first six months from aliyah, after which contributions start automatically through Bituach Leumi. A payment gap can disrupt cover. Diary the end of month six rather than waiting for a letter.

Source: Bituach Leumi — registration and contributions for new olim

Common mistakes to avoid

Owning a Netanya flat, living here half the year, and assuming a travel policy covers it.
Assuming residence means coverage — B/1 holders, remote workers and visitors are outside the system.
Booking a specialist without a GP referral (hafnaya) and paying full price.
Choosing a health fund by brand rather than by which clinic you can reach and in what language.
Dialling a single emergency number — it is 101 for a Magen David Adom ambulance, 100 police, 102 fire, 104 Home Front Command.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.