2018 - Dov Chernichovsky

Published in the Israeli financial newspaper, Globes on November 19th 2018. The article is a follow up (“yes, I told you so….”) of one I wrote 20 years ago when the hospital idea came up. The article take issue with the wisdom of putting up the 300-bed hospital, which is not viable financially and in a region relatively saturated with hospital beds rather than using the funds to increase the quality and specialization of nearby hospitals.

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July 17, 2018

This article finds, in the short term, mines have less or no effect on desertification and living conditions may reduce child mortality. In the long term, however, as desertification intensifies affecting the ecosystem, child mortality increases. In conclusion, more research is needed, and policy formulated accordingly.

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Healthcare in Israel: An Overview

This article summarizes two key interrelated threats to the still relatively high performing Israeli health care system: (a) the comparative shortage of state funding, especially in view of fast aging population and technological change, and (b) the awkward regulation of Supplemental Insurance. The latter leads to escalating private expenditure on health care and MDs’ incomes, with growing disparities in access to care and inefficiencies.

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December 23, 2018

The report disentangles Israel’s fascinating fertility patterns across ethnic-religious groups. Israel’s high fertility (TFR of 3.1 in 2015) is driven by rising fertility amongst the majority secular women population.

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Pictured above: Knesset Meeting: Left to right: Prof. D. Chernichovsky; MK Rabbi Y. Litzman, Health Minister; MK Y. Perry; and MK T. Ploskov

While long-term care has been a pressing issue in Israel for some time, it assumed center stage in Israeli politics in recent weeks as the Ministry of Finance decided to abolish, as of Jan. 1st, 2018, the group insurance held by 1 million Israelis through their places of work. This action has exposed this group, in addition to 3.5 million other Israelis who have no private insurance, to under-coverage for long-term care. Earlier this year, a Taub Center research team -- Prof. Dov Chernichovsky, Dr. Avigdor Kaplan, Mr. Eitan Regev, and Prof. Yochanan Shtessman -- published a study on the state of long-term care in Israel. The study, which can be found here in Hebrew or here in English (abridged), concludes that long-term care in Israel is neither efficient nor equitable and sustainable due to a combination of fragmented entitlements and poor oversight, with heavy reliance on private finance. The research team proposed the establishment of a universal basic long-term care basket funded by mandatory contributions, and overseen by a single authority.

Since the publication of the study in February 2017, Prof. Chernichovsky, who led the work on the basis of previous work, which can be found here, met with the Minister of Finance, Mr. M. Kahalon, the Minister of Welfare and Social Services, Mr. H. Katz, and Minister of Health, Rabbi Y. Litzman. In addition, Prof. Chernichovsky has had meetings with parliament member MK Itzik Shmuli, who is leading an initiative to establish universal long-term care. Prof. Chernichovsky was also invited by MK Yaakov Perry and MK David Amsalem to speak as an expert at the Knesset Caucus to Advance National Preparedness to Support the Aging Population. Following the caucus MK Tali Ploskov invited Prof. Chernichovsky to serve as an economic advisor to a Knesset sub-committee that she heads regarding elderly wellbeing. Prof. Chernichovsky has also appeared on Israeli television regarding this issue. The segment can be found here (Hebrew).

For some additional background on the issue please follow this link to the Jerusalem Post article (English) from earlier this year, regarding the issue.