Health Fund Costs to Drop for Second Time This Year

When they get their July bills for their extended health care insurance, Israelis may notice that they have a few more shekels in their pockets. That would be due to a cut in the payments collected by the four Israeli health funds (HMOs) for their extended insurance – the second such cut this year.

As of July, costs for those plans – which extend the basic national health insurance with more treatments, access to medicines, etc. – dropped by an additional 7%, after a drop of 8% earlier this year. The savings will amount to between half a shekel to tens of shekels per month per person, depending on their plan and insurance level.

The cuts are due to significant savings the health funds have been able to engineer in their outlay for care – all due to more efficient operations. The savings were ordered by the Health Ministry, which has as its objective reducing the portion of health care as a percentage of GDP. Currently that figure stands at 40% – better than in the past but short of the 30% the Ministry is aiming for, Globes reported.