Many Western nations are implementing (or considering) changes in their health care systems. An integral component of these changes (or debates) refers to the functioning and regulation of the supplementary health insurance market. However, only limited empirical evidence exists on the...

True health state is an unobservable concept. Researchers and practitioners now have access to a large variety of tools to measure the health state and health related quality of life by self-reports. Socio-demographic variation in these measures is usually interpreted as variation in health....

In 1995, a National Health Insurance Law (NHIL) was enacted in Israel. It specified a mandatory package of services to be provided by the four competing private non-profit sickness funds, and secured the financing of that provision. This review discusses the main issues associated with financing...

A sample of 2500 persons from the general population is used to investigate the stated demand for information about optional treatments, the demand for involvement in the treatment decision making, and the relationships between them. The results show that both clinical information and...

The current risk adjustment formula distorts the intended competition on good quality care among the sickness funds, and turns it into a competition on profitable members. After 18 years of using incorrect rates, the Israeli risk adjustment rates should be calculated, as is common in other...