IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v291y2021ics0277953621008066.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social solidarity in healthcare: The Israeli case

Author

Listed:
  • Shmueli, Amir

Abstract

While solidarity is at the basis of all social health insurance systems, little has been done to define and analyze it empirically. Equity in the delivery of medical care and progressivity of its finance are socially important, but miss the main principle of social health insurance systems – mutual help. The present study views social solidarity not as a value but as cross-subsidies among individuals, which are necessary to achieve a separation between finance and delivery of care in order to make healthcare affordable universally. A solidarity index, derived from the Kakwani Progressivity Index, is suggested and applied to the Israeli national health insurance system in 2010. The observed solidarity index for 2010 Israel is 0.242. Adjusting for possible barriers in use does not change the index. About 85% of the solidarity index originates from income solidarity. If the entire health budget was financed by the general revenue, the solidarity index would rise to 0.259. The level of solidarity in Israel is close to the one found in Canada, Finland and France. More comparative results over time and over systems will enable further insights and uses. The sustainability of solidarity requires, however, some altruism among the rich with respect to the health state of the poor.

Suggested Citation

  • Shmueli, Amir, 2021. "Social solidarity in healthcare: The Israeli case," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:291:y:2021:i:c:s0277953621008066
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114474
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953621008066
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114474?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fleurbaey, Marc & Schokkaert, Erik, 2009. "Unfair inequalities in health and health care," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 73-90, January.
    2. FLEURBAEY, Marc & SCHOKKAERT, Erik, 2011. "Equity in health and health care," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2011026, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    3. Wagstaff, Adam & van Doorslaer, Eddy, 2000. "Chapter 34 Equity in health care finance and delivery," Handbook of Health Economics, in: A. J. Culyer & J. P. Newhouse (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 34, pages 1803-1862, Elsevier.
    4. van de Ven, Wynand P. M. M. & van Vliet, Rene C. J. A. & Schut, Frederik T. & van Barneveld, Erik M., 2000. "Access to coverage for high-risks in a competitive individual health insurance market: via premium rate restrictions or risk-adjusted premium subsidies?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 311-339, May.
    5. Martin Feldstein, 2005. "Rethinking Social Insurance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 1-24, March.
    6. Hugh Gravelle, 2003. "Measuring income related inequality in health: standardisation and the partial concentration index," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(10), pages 803-819, October.
    7. Van de Poel, Ellen & Van Doorslaer, Eddy & O’Donnell, Owen, 2012. "Measurement of inequity in health care with heterogeneous response of use to need," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 676-689.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pulok, Mohammad Habibullah & van Gool, Kees & Hall, Jane, 2020. "Horizontal inequity in the utilisation of healthcare services in Australia," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(11), pages 1263-1271.
    2. Zhao, Guangchuan & Cao, Xinbang & Ma, Chao, 2020. "Accounting for horizontal inequity in the delivery of health care: A framework for measurement and decomposition," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 13-24.
    3. Antonio Abatemarco & Massimo Aria & Sergio Beraldo & Michela Collaro, 2023. "Measuring Access and Inequality of Access to Health Care: a Policy-Oriented Decomposition," CSEF Working Papers 666, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    4. Azharuddin Akhtar & Indrani Roy Chowdhury, 2023. "The socioeconomic inequity in healthcare utilization among individuals with cardiovascular diseases in India," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 1000-1018, May.
    5. Van de Poel, Ellen & Van Doorslaer, Eddy & O’Donnell, Owen, 2012. "Measurement of inequity in health care with heterogeneous response of use to need," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 676-689.
    6. Brunori, Paolo & Davillas, Apostolos & Jones, Andrew M. & Scarchilli, Giovanna, 2022. "Model-based Recursive Partitioning to Estimate Unfair Health Inequalities in the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 543-565.
    7. Antonio Abatemarco & Sergio Beraldo & Francesca Stroffolini, 2020. "Equality of opportunity in health care: access and equal access revisited," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 67(1), pages 13-29, March.
    8. Ma, Chao & Gu, Hai & Han, Jianyu, 2013. "我国健康服务利用的机会不平等研究:基于chns2009 数据的实证分析 [A Study on the Inequality of Opportunity in Health Care Utilization:Evidence from CHNS 2009]," MPRA Paper 53765, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Mohammad Habibullah Pulok & Kees Gool & Mohammad Hajizadeh & Sara Allin & Jane Hall, 2020. "Measuring horizontal inequity in healthcare utilisation: a review of methodological developments and debates," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 21(2), pages 171-180, March.
    10. Eric French & Elaine Kelly & Richard Cookson & Carol Propper & Miqdad Asaria & Rosalind Raine, 2016. "Socio‐Economic Inequalities in Health Care in England," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 37, pages 371-403, September.
    11. Clarke, Philip & Erreygers, Guido, 2020. "Defining and measuring health poverty," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    12. Fleurbaey, Marc & Schokkaert, Erik, 2009. "Unfair inequalities in health and health care," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 73-90, January.
    13. Peter Zweifel, 2006. "Auftrag und Grenzen der Sozialen Krankenversicherung," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(s1), pages 5-26, May.
    14. repec:dau:papers:123456789/13753 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Aitor Calo-Blanco, 2015. "Health, responsibility and taxation with a fresh start," Working Papers 15.06, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics.
    16. Philippe Batifoulier & John Latsis & Jacques Merchiers, 2010. "Les priorités de la prise en charge financière des soins. Une approche par la philosophie du besoin," EconomiX Working Papers 2010-2, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    17. Pilar García‐Gómez & Erik Schokkaert & Tom Van Ourti & Teresa Bago d'Uva, 2015. "Inequity in the Face of Death," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(10), pages 1348-1367, October.
    18. Jingru Ren & Xiaodong Zheng & Rodney Smith & Xiangming Fang, 2023. "School feeding program and urban–rural inequality of child health: Evidence from China," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(S1), pages 1399-1416, December.
    19. Richard Cookson & Owen Cotton-Barrett & Matthew Adler & Miqdad Asaria & Toby Ord, 2016. "Years of good life based on income and health: Re-engineering cost-benefit analysis to examine policy impacts on wellbeing and distributive justice," Working Papers 132cherp, Centre for Health Economics, University of York.
    20. Florence Jusot & Sabine Mage & Marta Menendez, 2014. "Inequality of Opportunity in Health in Indonesia," Working Papers DT/2014/06, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    21. Duclos, Jean-Yves & Échevin, Damien, 2011. "Health and income: A robust comparison of Canada and the US," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 293-302, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:291:y:2021:i:c:s0277953621008066. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.