Treasury Report Reveals High Salaries, Deep Gaps in Israel's Healthcare System

A new report from Israel's Ministry of Finance highlights that the average salary in the healthcare sector is relatively high compared to the national average, with only about 30% of the 134,000 professional healthcare workers earning less than 15,000 shekels per month. However, the report also exposes significant salary disparities within various professions, including substantial gender pay gaps.

Specialist physicians command the highest salaries, with hospital-based doctors earning an average of 40,000 shekels and community doctors averaging around 47,000 shekels monthly. Significant variations exist among physicians, with those in the top income decile earning six times more than those in the lowest. These differences are attributed to management roles, specialization, geographic location (doctors in the periphery earn more but also work more shifts), seniority, and gender.

Among hospital physicians, department heads earn an average of 83,000 shekels per month, while deputy directors earn 64,400 shekels, and department managers earn 53,000 shekels. Senior specialists earn 42,000 shekels, compared to 34,000 for junior specialists, and residents earn an average of 23,000 shekels, often working numerous shifts. Interns earn 10,700 shekels monthly.

Beyond doctors, engineers earn an average of 27,000 shekels, more than residents (23,000 shekels), who earn about the same as nurses (also around 23,000 shekels). Lab technicians, radiographers, technicians, and pharmacists earn approximately 20,000 shekels. Health professionals like speech therapists and physiotherapists earn about 16,000 shekels, while social workers and hospital psychologists earn around 15,000 shekels.

The report also details significant gender pay gaps, with women earning 25% less on average than men in hospitals. This disparity is partly due to women being concentrated in lower-paying professions like social work and physiotherapy, while being underrepresented in higher-paying fields like engineering and specialist medicine. Even within the same roles, male specialists earn 15% more than female specialists, and male residents earn 11% more than female residents.

Furthermore, the report warns of a looming crisis due to the high proportion of specialists nearing retirement. In fields like palliative care, nearly 48% of doctors are approaching retirement age, followed by clinical pharmacology (47%), pediatric surgery (36%), and geriatric medicine (34%). On average, 24% of all specialist physicians are nearing retirement, posing a significant challenge for future workforce planning given the extensive training required.