Israeli doctors earn far more than payslips show, new Treasury study finds

A new study by the Treasury’s chief economist provides a rare look at how much doctors in Israel really earn. It finds that in many cases the figure on a payslip does not match total income, because doctors in Israel’s mostly public health system also earn from private practice, and some top earners receive part of their pay through so-called shell companies.

The study examined 4,636 doctors and found that 9% of their total income, about 320 million shekels a year, flowed through shell companies and did not appear as regular salary. The concentration is highest among top earners, where 29% of income comes through these companies. In plastic surgery the share reaches 32%, in dermatology 19%, while in most internal-medicine specialties it is near zero. The researchers say ignoring these structures has understated doctors’ income for years.

The report also highlights another layer of complexity, hospital research foundations, or health corporations, operating alongside government hospitals. In 2023, 10 research foundations paid about 2.4 billion shekels in salaries to more than 23,000 workers, a real increase of 134% since 2010. The Treasury says these bodies, originally meant to reward afternoon work and support research, have become a broader staffing mechanism with little direct oversight by the Finance Ministry’s wages commissioner.

For 2023, the average annual income of a specialist in government hospitals was 772,000 shekels, about 64,000 shekels a month, and 32%, or about 248,000 shekels, came from private medicine. Specialists in the periphery earned more than those in the center, 836,000 shekels versus 758,000, mainly because public-sector pay is 19% higher there under a 2011 agreement. The study also shows that income rises sharply with seniority, and that plastic surgeons average about 1.1 million shekels a year, while pediatricians, psychiatrists and internists earn less largely because they have fewer private-income opportunities. The Treasury says the findings support a sweeping reform of hospital corporations.