Clalit

Clalit (כללית, lit. General) is one of Israel's leading HMOs. It was founded in 1911 by a group of 150 immigrants desiring a mutual aid health care association. When the State of Israel was founded in 1948, Clalit helped in the restructuring of Israel's health care system to provide for the huge wave of new immigrants. Nowadays there are Clalit clinics in almost every neighborhood in the country.

Currently
In January, 1995 Israel's national health insurance law went into effect, creating a compulsory health care system based on four service providers; Clalit, Leumit, Maccabi, and Meuhedet. Clalit is the largest of the four with around 3.8 million insured members, 60% of the Israeli population.

Clalit runs its own network of hospitals throughout Israel. It has a total of 14 hospitals, including psychiatric hospitals, and a rehabilitation hospital, all of which are university-affiliated. It also runs 1,200 primary and specialized clinics and has a network of pharmacies and dental clinics.

Clalit-run hospitals

 * Rabin Medical Center – Beilinson Campus (founded in 1938) in Petah Tikva. Among its specialities are open-heart surgery and neurosurgery, as well as heart, liver and kidney transplants.


 * Rabin Medical Center – Golda Campus (founded in 1942) in Petah Tikva. Among its specialities are total joint replacement, home dialysis, vascular surgery, and hematology research using electromicroscopic techniques.


 * Lady Davis Hospital (founded in 1967) in Haifa. It is part of the modern Carmel Medical Center. and provides comprehensive healthcare to the heterogeneous inhabitants of Haifa, its suburbs and points north. Among its specialities are its Cardiology, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Departments, as well as its Community and Medicine Epidemiology Department.


 * HaEmek Hospital (founded in 1930)in Afula. It is part of the HaEmek Valley Medical Center. It specializes in the treatment of fertility and reproductive problems.


 * Meir Hospital (founded in 1960) in Kfar Saba. It is part of the Sapir Medical Center. It specializes in its treatment of pulmonary diseases and spinal surgery.


 * Kaplan Medical Center (founded in 1953) in Rehovot. It is known for its expertise in hand surgery.


 * Soroka Hospital (founded in 1960) in Beersheba, the major hospital in the Negev region.


 * Yoseftal Hospital (founded in 1968) in Eilat. It is part of the Yoseftal Medical Center. It is Israel’s southernmost hospital.

Criticism of Clalit-run hospitals
In March 2007, Prof. Gabi Barabash, director of Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital criticised the Israeli Health Ministry for allowing Clalit to run private hospitals. He claims that it would be a disaster for the public hospitalization system. Ruth Ralbag, a senior official in the Health Ministry's budget department, argues that the incentives for opening private hospitals lead to a decline in the public health system and the division of health consumers into rich and poor.