The history of the health system from the period of the Jewish settlement in the period of the Ottoman Empire through the establishment of the Ministry of Health and the opening of health funds during the alliance, the establishment of the state and its first years, until 1994 on the eve of the enactment of the State Health Insurance Law. Therefore I would like to present later in this chapter the national expenditure on health in the years reviewed in order to gain some understanding and basis for subsequent chapters which will discuss the more economic aspect of the health system
As such, over the years before and especially after 1994, and comparison with other industrialized countries - the OECD mainly. The data presented are only from 1962 and not from 1948 (establishment of the state) due to the fact that this is the first year in which the first surveys on the subject were conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
As part of the national expenditure on health, all the economic activity of the health services in a given year is measured. This expense consists of the current expenses of the health services and the investment expenses for the construction of buildings and the purchase of new equipment.
Table No. 2: National Expenditure on Health, GDP and Growth of the Economy for the Years 1961-1994.
|
Year |
GDP |
Percentage Growth |
Total expenditure on health as a percentage NMR |
Investment as a percentage of domestic capital |
Current expenditure as percentage of private and public consumption |
|
|
1961 |
50,558 |
|||||
|
1962 |
56,146 |
11.1% |
5.4% |
1.3% |
6.2% |
|
|
1963 |
61,608 |
9.7% |
5.1% |
1.5% |
6.0% |
|
|
1964 |
68,240 |
10.8% |
5.3% |
1.6% |
6.2% |
|
|
1965 |
72,335 |
6.0% |
5.8% |
1.8% |
6.7% |
|
|
1966 |
72,822 |
0.7% |
6.0% |
3.3% |
6.6% |
|
|
1967 |
75,577 |
3.8% |
5.9% |
3.5% |
6.7% |
|
|
1968 |
89,550 |
18.5% |
5.3% |
2.5% |
6.3% |
|
|
1969 |
101,452 |
13.3% |
5.2% |
2.4% |
6.2% |
|
|
1970 |
111,693 |
10.1% |
5.3% |
2.1% |
6.8% |
|
|
1971 |
124,100 |
11.1% |
5.1% |
1.8% |
6.9% |
|
|
1972 |
135,790 |
9.4% |
5.5% |
2.2% |
7.1% |
|
|
1973 |
152,133 |
12.0% |
5.8% |
2.9% |
7.1% |
|
|
1974 |
158,429 |
4.1% |
5.9% |
3.6% |
6.9% |
|
|
1975 |
164,661 |
3.9% |
6.4% |
3.2% |
7.7% |
|
|
1976 |
165,269 |
0.4% |
6.8% |
3.2% |
8.4% |
|
|
1977 |
166,375 |
0.7% |
7.4% |
3.3%
|
8.8% |
|
|
1978 |
176,006 |
5.8% |
7.4% |
2.4% |
9.1% |
|
|
1979 |
183,384 |
4.2% |
6.8% |
1.8% |
8.9% |
|
|
1980 |
185,146 |
1.0% |
6.8% |
1.8% |
8.7% |
|
|
1981 |
196,399 |
6.1% |
6.8% |
2.0% |
8.4% |
|
|
1982 |
200,282 |
2.0% |
6.8% |
2.0% |
8.4% |
|
|
1983 |
207,660 |
3.7% |
7.1% |
2.2% |
8.9% |
|
|
1984 |
210,427 |
1.3% |
6.1% |
1.7% |
8.4% |
|
|
1985 |
216,820 |
3.0% |
6.3% |
1.4% |
8.3% |
|
|
1986 |
227,621 |
5.0% |
6.6% |
1.7% |
8.4% |
|
|
1987 |
249,637 |
9.7% |
6.9% |
2.0% |
8.9% |
|
|
1988 |
253,954 |
1.7% |
7.4% |
2.4% |
9.3% |
|
|
1989 |
253,065 |
-0.4% |
7.2% |
1.8% |
9.4% |
|
|
1990 |
271,764 |
7.4% |
7.3% |
1.9% |
9.4% |
|
|
1991 |
295,305 |
8.7% |
6.9% |
1.4% |
9.2% |
|
|
1992 |
317,454 |
7.5% |
7.2% |
1.3% |
9.6% |
|
|
1993 |
338,761 |
6.7% |
7.4% |
1.6% |
9.7% |
|
|
1994 |
366,403 |
8.2% |
7.9% |
1.6% |
10.1% |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics website.
From the above table you can see some things:
- Until the mid-1960s, the Israeli economy was characterized by a high growth rate of about 10% per year, which changed considerably between 1966 and 1967 and the economy suffered from a recession (0.7% and 3.8% growth, respectively). These extreme fluctuations were reflected in the relative share of national health expenditure out of GDP, which rose during the recession years and declined during the growth years.
- During the 1970s, there was a trend of an increase in national health expenditure, mainly in the years 1975 to 1978, and was probably mainly due to investment in infrastructure and development. (It can be seen in the table that in these years the expenditure on investment as a percentage of the total investment in the economy was the highest of all the years surveyed). In this decade, too, the trend of an increase in the percentage of national health expenditure out of GDP in the years of recession (1975 to 1979) can be seen.
- 80s: The years of high inflation, a low growth rate of the population, and therefore a negative trend can be seen in the national expenditure on health.
- Early 1990s: The great immigration from the Soviet Union came along with high growth and therefore the percentage of national health expenditure did not really change in those years (1990-1991).
Sources
• Dr. A. Fishman (2008), "How do you heal the health system"? The Colonies Magazine website, (http://www.magazin.org.il/inner.asp?page=23&article=1087).
• World Health Organization (2000), Overall health system achievement for 191 countries, World Health Organization website, (http://www.who.int/healthinfo/paper28.pdf).
• G. Ben-Nun, J. Berlowitz and M. Shani (2005), The Israeli Health System, Ministry of Defense - Publishing
• G. Ben-Nun, N. Kedar (2007), International Comparisons in Health Systems: OECD Countries and Israel 1970 - 2005, Ministry of Health website, (http://www.health.gov.il/download/pages/OECD2007. pdf).
• G. Ben-Nun, N. Kedar (2007), State Health Insurance Law 1995 - 2007: Statistical Data File, Ministry of Health website, (http://www.health.gov.il/download/pages/Health_Economics.pdf ).
• Maalot rating company (S&P), (2008), overview of the health system in Israel, Maalot company website (http://www.maalot.co.il/IsraelHealth.pdf).
• Central Bureau of Statistics Annual Data - Tables from the latest “Statistical Abstract of Israel” - Gross Domestic Product, (http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton59/st14_01x.pdf), National Health Expenditure 2006-1962 (http: / /www.cbs.gov.il/publications/briut08/pdf/t01a.pdf).
• Hilan Tech Dictionary of Wages and Working Conditions - Hilan Tech Ltd. website (http://www.hilan.co.il/).