Since implementation of the National Health Insurance Law in 1995, the JDC-Brookdale Institute has been conducting an ongoing evaluation study designed to monitor the law’s impact on health plans, the level of service they provide to members, the equity of the services, and the burden of payments on citizens. This report presents findings from a population survey, conducted at the end of 1999, of the functioning of the health system from the perspective of service users.
This was the third in a series of three surveys; the first two were conducted in 1995 and 1997. During this time, there have been far-reaching changes in health policy, the health system’s financial situation and the health plans’ methods of operation. As a result, the health system’s NIS 1.5 billion deficit in 1997 had decreased to NIS 400 million by 1998, and to about NIS 200 million by 1999. The decline in the deficit was due in part to a decline in per capita expenditures and in part to an increase in revenues, including increased co-payments and increased government funding. In light of these changes, it is particularly important to conduct an ongoing follow up of indices of the system’s functioning in order to examine the impact of these changes and identify desirable trends that should be reinforced, and undesirable byproducts that require special intervention.