Israel’s National Health Insurance Law took effect on January 1, 1995. It gives every resident entitlement to the legally defined health services basket and requires registration with one of four health funds, or kupot holim. Residents choose their fund; the funds must provide the same statutory basket to members.
The four funds are Clalit, Maccabi, Meuhedet, and Leumit. They organize primary and specialist care, clinics, referrals, and covered treatments. The law establishes coverage and obligations; it does not make every treatment or medicine available without limits. Services are those specified in the basket, which is revised through a separate public process.
How the funds are financed
Funding combines health insurance contributions collected by the National Insurance Institute, patient co-payments, and state budget allocations. A Knesset Research and Information Center account of the 2018 funding structure estimated that contributions supplied 48.2% of the basket cost, co-payments 6.45%, and the state budget 45.3%. Those figures describe 2018. Public allocations are distributed among the funds using a formula that weights insured members by factors including age, sex, and residence in peripheral areas.
This is a public insurance system with several providers, rather than a single-payer arrangement. Government rules define the basket and regulate the funds, while each fund arranges delivery through its own network and contracts.
Choosing or changing a fund
Members may change funds through scheduled registration windows. The National Insurance Institute lists six effective dates each year, with applications due on specified dates; a switch is not immediate at any time. Each fund also offers optional supplementary insurance, separate from the statutory basket.
For related topics, read how Israel updates its health basket and how funds use health data in research.
What the law guarantees
The law sets a common entitlement and assigns the funds responsibility for delivering covered care. It is a statutory framework based on resident status, enrollment, a defined basket, and regulated providers. It does not mean every resident receives identical clinical care in every circumstance.
Read the National Insurance Institute guide to the law, the fund transfer schedule, and the Knesset analysis of basket financing.