Doctors' Salaries in Israel Show Vast Disparities, New Report Reveals

A comprehensive report from Israel's Ministry of Finance's Wage and Agreements Department has exposed significant and unprecedented salary gaps within the public healthcare system. The analysis, covering over 120,000 employees in hospitals and health maintenance organizations, highlights extreme disparities, even among professionals with identical job rankings.

The most striking differences are seen among specialist physicians. While those in the bottom tenth percentile earn an average monthly salary of approximately $17,300, their counterparts in the top tenth percentile earn over six times that amount, reaching about $104,500 per month. The overall average salary across the system is around $22,500 in hospitals and $23,300 in community clinics, with a quarter of all employees earning over $25,000 monthly.

The report also details variations based on medical specialties and work settings. In general hospitals, geriatricians lead with an average salary of about $47,000. However, in community settings, obstetrics and gynecology specialists command the highest salaries, averaging around $78,600 per month, nearly double that of psychiatrists in the same community setting.

Furthermore, the data reveals substantial gender pay gaps, reaching 19% in hospitals and up to 40% in community clinics in favor of men. This is largely attributed to a higher proportion of men in management roles and those undertaking additional work compensated by on-call duties. Conversely, physicians in peripheral areas earn significantly more than those in central Israel, with a gap of about 43% favoring managers in the periphery.

Finally, the report identifies a critical demographic challenge, with approximately a quarter of specialist physicians in hospitals expected to retire in the coming years. In 2023, the average annual salary for all specialist physicians in government hospitals, including both public and private practice, was around $772,000. Of this, roughly $524,000 came from the public sector, with an additional $248,000 earned from private medical work.