Health Products and Coverage in Israel - Policy and Implications

The health system in Israel is a highly advanced and developed, as well as complex. It includes a broad national compulsory health coverage, complemented by a voluntary collective supplemental group health coverage, and supplemented by private insurance health policies and extensive private medical services. Its development was affected by many factors, including the birth and growth of the State of Israel during the last half century; the social beliefs of Israel's founders; the constant conflict between centralized socialistic thinking and decentralized private market capitalism; the nature of Israel as a major immigration absorbing country; and the technical and scientific advances of Israel. This work presents the current history and design of the Israel health system and its governmental, public and private providers and insurance sectors, and outline the lessons to be learned from the Israeli experience.