2 Responses to “In Israel, What Type Of Health Care System Is In Place? Public/social Or Private?”

1. 

   Shay p said on Friday, October 2, 2009, 13:48

   Impoverished !!! All recive medical treatment !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
   Until 1995, health insurance in Israel was voluntary, although 99 percent of the Jewish population and 97 percent of the Arab population were covered by four HMOs, the first of which was established at the end of 1911. This was a system wherein the insured members paid the HMO, and the employer made a compulsory payment to the National Insurance Institute.
   Today in Israel, everyone is covered by health insurance. In 1994, the Israeli parliament passed a groundbreaking health insurance bill that made every Israeli resident automatically insured, no matter their age, financial status or religion.
   Israel’s universal health care is characterized by its “national health care basket,” which defines the range of services to which every resident is equally entitled. Residents can petition a labor court if they believe an HMO has ignored their rights to a medical service.
   Universal access to Israel’s national health care basket means that there is no underinsurance in Israel, which happens when there are gaps in coverage.
   The main health care delivery system for all Israelis is through primary and secondary clinics. These clinics, which are present throughout the country, provide easy and efficient access to care.
   The clinics that belong to the HMOs enable quick access to primary medical care and also easy referral to specialists without waiting lists. There is continuity of care, while there is now a tremendous effort to computerize all the medical data.
   Ninety-five percent of general care hospitals in Israel are public. There is little wait for diagnostic examinations such as MRI and CT or for procedures such as open-heart surgery. Payment for hospitalization is the responsibility of the HMO, and there is no deductible or co-insurance payment required of the patient.
   There is a $3 co-payment for each prescription on the approved drug list covering acute and chronic diseases.
   Only hospitalization in nursing homes is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health for those who cannot afford to pay for private insurance or from their own means. Geriatric care, being an integral part of health care in Israel, is of high quality.
2. 

   Peace in our time said on Friday, October 2, 2009, 19:19

   As in all things in life, you get what you pay for. Israel has socialized medicine (a portion of your salary is “taxed”), and prescriptions are mostly free. But the care of the physicians is not very good. My wife delivered our first daughter in a “dorm” by mid-wives. Here in the States for our second child she had a private room and our son was delivered by a real doctor.