Is healthcare good in Israel? (2023)

Does Israel have good healthcare?

The healthcare system is based on the National Health Insurance Law of 1995. Israelis can increase medical coverage by purchasing private health insurance or “supplementary insurance.” Israel ranks high in life expectancy and overall health of its citizens, as well as boasting a low infant mortality rate.

Every citizen or permanent resident of Israel is free to choose from among four competing, non-profit-making sickness funds, called health plans (HPs). These HPs must provide their members with access to a statutory benefits package.

Israel's health system has been subject to systemic failures in planning, budgeting and regulation by the government, resulting in an acute shortage of beds, inefficiencies and gaps in accessibility of treatment, a report by the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel said. The study by Prof.

It has a 90% patient satisfaction rate, top-tier rankings by international health measures, one of the lowest costs-per-patient in the world, a world-class community and primary care system, and Israel has become a leading developer and exporter of life-saving healthcare technology, training, systems, policies, medical ...

The Mediterranean diet encourages moderate amounts of fish and poultry, and a low intake of dairy products (such as cheese and yogurt), red and processed meat, and sweets. The Israeli staples of hummus, tomato and cucumber salad, and extra-virgin olive oil, tick all the right boxes.

Apart from the changing world, there is also a shortage of physicians in Israel, as the number of new immigrant physicians has decreased over the last decade. Other medical professions and infrastructures are also lacking, including nurses, acute care hospital beds, intensive care beds and more.

Israel's NHI system is funded primarily through an earmarked, income-related health tax (5% of income for individuals age 22 and older) in combination with general government revenues, which are funded primarily through progressive income taxation paid by individuals.

Through the years Israel has passed a number of laws designed to aid in care for the elderly and protection of their rights – at home, in hospitals and in various institutions for the elderly population.

Why is Israel's fertility rate so high?

However, the rise in Israel's fertility over the last two decades has been largely driven by the secular and traditional Jewish populations, whose combined fertility rate is greater than 2.2, which is itself higher than the overall fertility in any other OECD country.

The average cultural competence score of the Israeli public hospitals is 2.24 on a scale of 0–4.

Israel is ranked as one of the healthiest countries in the world and one of the main reasons for this is the country's diet. A recent ranking of countries with the lowest rate of diet-related deaths ranked Israeli at No 1 and the country came in at No 10 on the 2019 Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index.