Regulating Life and Death: The Case of Israel's 'Health Basket' Committee

Abstract

The United States like all Western nations faces tough problems regarding healthcare: with rapidly rising costs, the majority of the population is struggling to obtain good quality yet affordable medical treatment. There is growing pressure on the state to intervene by regulation or finance to allow the greatest number of people possible to enjoy health benefits. Israel, a nation providing state-subsidized universal healthcare, is struggling with the just the same problems. After introducing the general themes of Israeli health care system, the paper presents two of its unique and features. First, the one official committee charged with annually expanding the Israeli healthcare services 'basket', on a budget. And, conversely, the Israeli policy decision to generously finance fertility treatment. Both features are noteworthy for students of healthcare and welfare policies.

JEL Classification: H51, I11, I12, I18, K23, K32, L50, L65