Here is a fact few people are aware of: approximately 10% of Israel's national expenditure on healthcare originates from non-profit organizations. Public healthcare in Israel owes a profound debt of gratitude to generous individuals in Israel and abroad, particularly within American Jewry, who contribute with remarkable generosity.
As of today, national health expenditure stands at roughly 140 billion NIS, representing about 7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the health tax paid by Israelis accounts for about 23% of the public healthcare funding. The state covers another 40%, while the remainder comes from hospital friends’ organizations (NGOs), private insurance, and out-of-pocket payments by patients.
Up to this point, it sounds relatively logical, doesn't it? We all know that healthcare is expensive, very expensive, and the vast majority of public health services in Israel are funded by taxes paid to the state or through the National Health Insurance Law.
However, here is the most critical point, hidden deep within the data tables: Almost all national health budgets are allocated to personnel or institutional overhead costs (electricity, taxes, water, gas, etc.). I call this "The Health Budget Paradox."
The Israeli healthcare system employs approximately 200,000 people, accounting for about 7% of the nation's workforce. Every hospital director in Israel is intimately familiar with this harsh, and perhaps frustrating, statistic: About 90% of a hospital's budget is earmarked for manpower.
This leaves almost no operational flexibility. What happens when there is a shortage of life-saving equipment? When the Emergency Room needs expansion? When operating rooms need upgrading? Or when a critical defibrillator in the Intensive Care Unit breaks down and needs replacing? The answer is clear and painful, though few realize it: There is no money for it. There simply isn’t any.
This is where hospital NGOs step in with full force. Their impact has been nothing short of dramatic following the war and the horrors of the October 7th massacre. As helicopters brought in the wounded and Emergency Departments worked around the clock, the shortages in critical equipment became impossible to ignore.
Need an ultrasound machine? - "Go to the NGO". Need a blood warmer for a wounded soldier? - "Go to the NGO". Short on stretchers, monitors, resuscitation kits, or X-ray machines? - "Go to the NGO".
Hospital friends' associations in Israel do not fund personnel, taxes, gardening, clothing, laundry, or the cafeteria. They are 100% focused on missing life-saving equipment. Every shekel or dollar donated is channeled toward one goal: saving lives. In other words, while the state sustains the healthcare system, philanthropy enables it to evolve.
So, when we say that 10% of national health expenditure comes from NGOs, we must remember the "Health Budget Paradox": when it comes to technology, equipment, innovation, upgrades, and renovations – essentially, philanthropy is the primary engine driving the improvement of medicine in Israel.
NGOs step in to cover over 50% of these needs, and often more. It is impossible to advance Israeli medicine without the involvement of the business sector, the economy, strong corporations, foundations, and the warm hearts of good people - from major donors to ordinary citizens who decide to donate their birthday money to the hospital.
To donate Kaplan Medical Center, or for any additional information: amuta9090@gmail.com
Amos Shavit is the CEO of the Friends of Kaplan Medical Center, PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at Ariel University, former spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, and public policy expert.