158 | Health and Social Services
HEALTH TOURISM: Israel has become a popular destination for patients around the world suffering from chronic conditions such as rheumatism, psoriasis, and asthma. Many benefit from
insurance tax of up to 4.8 percent of income, collected by the National Insurance Institute, and employer participation in the cost of insurance for their employees. The insurance schemes are reimbursed according to a weighted average number of insured persons, calculated by age, distance of home from a health facility, and other criteria determined by the Ministry of Health.
ALBATROSS
Health Problems Israel’s health problems are similar to those prevailing in the Western world. Since heart diseases and cancer account for about two thirds of deaths, the study of these illnesses has become a national special treatments in the priority. Also of great concern are medical hot springs at Tiberias, the care for the aging, problems arising from mineral-rich waters of the environmental changes, and conditions Dead Sea, or the dry climate emanating from current lifestyles, as well as of Arad, a modern city in the traffic and occupational accidents. Health Negev desert. education programs are widely used to inform the public of the need to stop habits such as smoking and overeating, as well as lack of physical exercise, which have proved detrimental to health. Campaigns are also run frequently to increase workers’ and drivers’ awareness of potential dangers.