Investigators from the Antitrust Authority today raided the offices of the four CEOs of Israel's health funds, seizing documents and computer files, and opened investigations against the funds' senior executives. The CEOs are expected to be questioned by the Antitrust Authority on suspicion of forming a cartel. The allegation is that the four CEOs - Eli Defes (Clalit Health Services), Dr. Ehud Kokia (Maccabi Healthcare Services), Shmuel Mualem (Meuhedet Health Fund) and Nissim Alon (Leumi Health Services) allegedly coordinated their positions.
In the middle of last week the four CEOs sent a joint letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Minister of Justice Prof. Daniel Friedmann, Minister of Finance Ronnie Bar-On and Minister of Health Yaakov Ben-Yizri. In the letter the four CEOs expressed their opposition to the proposal in the economic arrangements bill, which is headed "Encouraging competition between the funds."
The proposal, which has already been approved by the government with the support of Ben-Yizri, calls for reducing the health tax by NIS 90, currently deducted by the National Insurance Institute as a percentage of salaries. The health funds would be able to compete among themselves over the direct collection of the NIS 90.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 28, 2008
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