Healthcare: Health Care in Israel

Romney's point about Israel's success in controlling health care costs is spot on: Its health care system has seen health care costs grow much slower than other industrialized nations.

How it has gotten there, however, may not be to the Republican candidate's liking: Israel regulates its health care system aggressively, requiring all residents to carry insurance and capping revenue for various parts of the country's health care system.

Israel created a national health care system in 1995, largely funded through payroll and general tax revenue. The government provides all citizens with health insurance: They get to pick from one of four competing, nonprofit plans. Those insurance plans have to accept all customers--including people with pre-existing conditions--and provide residents with a broad set of government-mandated benefits.

For more, see Romney Praises Health Care in Israel, Where Research Says 'Strong Government Influence' Has Driven down Costs by Sarah Kliff, July 30, 2012 at Wonkblog.