Maccabi Blocked LGBT Parents from Accessing Children's Medical Records Without Notice
LGBT parents have reported that Maccabi HMO restricted access to their children's medical records to biological parents only. The HMO cites compliance with Amendment 13 of the Privacy Protection Law, while parents demand an immediate reversal of this discriminatory policy.
LGBT parents claim that the Maccabi HMO has blocked their access to their children's medical records without any prior notice. Maccabi maintains that this change stems from Amendment 13 to the Privacy Protection Law, which prohibits the disclosure of a minor's medical information to anyone not explicitly defined as a parent in the Population Registry.
Following these reports, MK Yorai Lahav-Hertzanu (Yesh Atid) appealed to Minister of Health Israel Katz:
"The demand for LGBT people to prove their parenthood over and over again is degrading, outrageous, and contradicts the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. The fact that such 'errors' arise solely towards LGBT families seeking to exercise basic civil rights indicates that this is not a technical glitch, but a discriminatory policy."
Parents were informed by HMO representatives that following a "version update" to align with the Privacy Protection Law, access was restricted to the biological parent only. They are now being required to visit a branch in person to re-register their parental status.
One affected parent, Yogev, shared his frustration: "My husband and I are both registered as parents at the National Insurance Institute. Yet, we discovered that I have no access to my son's medical file, and he cannot access our daughter's. My son broke his arm recently, and I cannot even book follow-up appointments. This creates an intolerable dependency on the other parent for basic medical care."
In his letter, MK Lahav-Hertzanu demanded that the Health Minister instruct all HMOs to immediately remove any restrictions preventing LGBT parents from accessing their children's medical information.
Maccabi responded: "We emphasize that every parent registered in the Population Registry has full access to their children's medical information. As part of implementing Amendment 13, access was limited for those not defined as parents by the registry. We are currently working on a solution that will allow access for parents not registered in the Population Registry through a declaration provided by the registered parent."
