Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon and Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) chairman Avi Nissenkorn are scheduled to meet today in another attempt to reach a compromise on Supervisor of Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings Dorit Salinger's decision to cancel group long-term insurance plans. If no breakthrough is achieved in the meeting, the supreme Histadrut governing body will meet tomorrow and declare a general labor dispute, which could theoretically be followed within two weeks by a strike, not only in public and government services, but also in private sector businesses with organized labor, such as the banks, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), the Jerusalem Light Rail, and others. Kahlon and Nissenkorn met yesterday to discuss the matter, and the parties reported at the end of the meeting, "The talks took place in a positive atmosphere, including the lighting of Hanukah candles."
<p>It is believed that Kahlon is likely to agree to a postponement of six months, or even a year, in the implementation of Salinger's decision, which is scheduled to go into effect next January, in order to formulate an alternative plan that will be a more appropriate alternative for several hundred thousand workers and pensioners with group long-term insurance palans purchased through their places of employment. Sources also inform "Globes" that the professional echelons in the Ministry of Finance are currently willing to consider not canceling the group insurance policies, subject to various revisions and adjustments.
<p>Salinger's decision was taken after many years of discussions in the Ministry of Finance insurance department, where it was concluded that the group plans were inappropriate for long-term care, in which ensuring continuity of rights is of supreme importance. Already in 2011, the Ministry of Finance realized that there were places of employment for which the insurance companies had decided not to renew the group policies, a measure that would leave older employees without long-term care insurance, because they had not passed the insurance companies' underwriting tests (a medical history check), or because they could not afford to pay premiums of hundreds of shekels a month. The dynamism in the current labor market and the lack of employment security that are causing many workers to switch from one employer to another have also strengthened the Ministry of Finance's views, because every such move to another employer leads to the policy being discontinued.
<p>The decision to not only cancel the group insurance, but to also launch a uniform policy that will be marketed by the health funds, was due to the Ministry of Finance's wish to eliminate the differences between the various insurance products, so that they could be compared with one another, therefore bolstering competition over the price. In addition, the uniform policy is designed to enable the health funds' policyholders to switch from one fund to another while maintaining the continuity of their long-term care insurance rights.
<p>Histradrut pension, insurance, and capital market department chair Adv. Mia Perry Alterman is convinced that there will be room in the future also for group long-term care insurance, and that if there are problems, they can be solved without completely eliminating these plans, which provide reasonable coverage for workers relatively cheaply.
<p><i>Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - <a href=http://www.globes-online.com>www.globes-online.com</a> - on December 8, 2015</i><p><i>© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2015</i>