Lecturer: 

Prof. Miriam Marcowitz-Bitton (Bar Ilan University)

Title: 

Israel’s National Health Basket

Abstract: 

 

The presentation examines the process of updating Israel’s National Health Basket (health services package), focusing on its institutional, economic, and ethical dimensions.

It highlights the dynamic nature of the health basket, which must continuously adapt to new medical technologies, evolving clinical practices, and budgetary constraints. The process is grounded in principles of equity, solidarity, and universal access, as established by the National Health Insurance Law.

A central theme is the structured decision-making process for including new technologies, involving multiple stages: submission of proposals by diverse stakeholders, professional evaluation, consultation with experts, and deliberation by public and governmental committees. Each technology is assessed through a comprehensive framework that includes clinical effectiveness, safety, cost-effectiveness, epidemiological impact, and comparison to existing treatments.

The presentation emphasizes the challenge of resource allocation under a fixed budget, requiring prioritization between competing needs such as life-saving treatments, quality of life improvements, and preventive care. This creates inherent trade-offs and ethical dilemmas, particularly in balancing equity across patient populations and addressing unmet needs.

Additional key issues include:

• Broad stakeholder participation, including patients, clinicians, policymakers, and industry
• Increasing importance of patient perspectives in evaluating treatment value
• Transparency and public accountability in the decision-making process
• The impact of rapid technological change, especially in advanced therapies
• Structural constraints such as uncertain and limited funding, hindering long-term planning

Overall, the presentation portrays the health basket update mechanism as a complex, multi-criteria governance system, aimed at ensuring fair, evidence-based, and socially responsible allocation of healthcare resources in the face of growing medical and economic pressures.

Short Bio:

Professor Miriam Marcowitz-Bitton is the Raoul Wallenberg Chair in Human Rights at the Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University. She is a leading scholar in intellectual property, law and technology, and private law, with extensive research spanning patent law, copyright, property law, and the intersection of law with innovation and social inequality. She has held visiting professorships at various American universities.

Professor Marcowitz-Bitton has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Aharon Barak Prize for Senior Legal Scholars and multiple prizes for outstanding academic publications. Her work has been supported by major international and national grants, including Fulbright, Marie Curie, and the Israel Science Foundation.

Her scholarship combines theoretical, comparative, and empirical approaches, addressing topics such as patent policy, the gender gap in innovation, regulation of digital and pharmaceutical markets, and the legal implications of emerging technologies. Her research has influenced both academic discourse and public policy, offering practical solutions to challenges in intellectual property, healthcare, and minority rights.

In addition to her academic career, she has advised government ministries and participated in legislative processes in Israel, particularly in intellectual property and technology regulation. She has also served in key public roles, including membership in national committees and regulatory bodies.

Committed to social impact, Professor Marcowitz-Bitton actively promotes equal access to higher education and supports underrepresented students, reflecting her broader dedication to advancing inclusion and equality.

 

Location: 

Eilan Hall, Feldman Building, Second Floor, Edmond Safra Campus.