The Health and Finance Ministries, as well as the Knesset Health Committee, support a significant increase in the health tax that Israelis pay every month.
Health insurance tax is levied at 3.1% on the first NIS 7,522 and at 5% on the difference between that figure and the ceiling calculated for monthly income at NIS 49,030. If approved, the increase to 3.25% and 5.15% respectively will go into effect at the beginning of 2025, but committee approval will make it possible to allocate a dedicated budget for the mental health system next year. The increase will mean NIS 1 billion more for psychiatric care.
According to Prof. Gabi Bin Nun, a senior health economist in the health systems management department at Ben-Gurion University (BGU) of the Negev in Beersheba, in light of the fact that health fund premiums constitute a dedicated tax for healthcare, the expectation is that when this tax rises, the public will receive more through expanding the basket of services required by.
However, he added that according to the wording in the proposed legislation, the increase in income from the increase in health insurance premiums is offset by a reduction in the participation of the state budget, so that the total sources of the law as well as the rights of the residents do not change. In addition, due to the salary ceiling required for health insurance, the tax increase is regressive and harmed the poor. He wondered why another, more progressive tax source such as the income tax was not selected as a source of financing the huge costs of the Gaza war.
Health Ministry director-general Moshe Bar Siman Tov told the committee that with the difficult reality after the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, the war, and need to prepare for the battles in the north, a dedicated budget was needed for the emotional health of the victims and their families, the evacuees and their families, and rescue forces. He detailed the mental and physical rehabilitation plan that his ministry is preparing that will be launched at Hadassah Medical Center on Mount Scopus and Poriya (Padeh) Medical Center in Tiberias.
He also discussed preparations for protecting Israel’s hospitals against hostile cyberattacks and for treating evacuees and those returning to their homes.
