Methodology and sources
51vs50 compares what health insurance costs in Israel with every US state and DC, using official public statistics only. Nothing is estimated: if no official source publishes a figure, the site says "No data". Other cost-of-living categories may be added later.
What is compared
Every comparison shows one number per side: the cost of health insurance per month, in US dollars.
- US: the average annual premium for single coverage through a private-sector employer, employer and employee shares combined (AHRQ MEPS-IC, Table X.C), divided by 12.
- Israel: the national health tax for an employee earning the average wage, plus a basic supplementary plan.
Israel's current figure ($215 a month): Calculated: health tax 3.23% of wage up to NIS 7,703 + 5.17% above it (rates as of Jan 01, 2026) on the CBS average wage of NIS 14,534 (Jul 2026) = NIS 601.97, plus Maccabi Zahav supplementary plan, ages 30-45, NIS 65.57 (from 2026-10-01).
Across the 50 states and DC, the simple average is $748 a month.
Why it isn't like-for-like
- Israel has universal coverage by law (National Health Insurance Law, 1995): every resident belongs to one of four health funds, financed mainly by an income-based health tax. The US figure covers only people insured through a private-sector employer; others buy individual plans or are covered by Medicare or Medicaid.
- Israel's health tax depends on income, and supplementary-plan prices depend on age and health fund. The figure shown is for an average-wage employee aged 30–45.
- Deductibles, co-payments and out-of-pocket maximums are not included yet; the US figures are premiums only.
- The comparison is for one adult (single coverage). Family coverage is planned.
Geographic scope
Israel only, as one national figure per item. No data from the West Bank or Gaza is used, and CBS's 'Judea and Samaria Area' district is never used.
- Israeli figures are national averages as published by CBS and other agencies; they do not publish a breakdown that would allow removing specific areas.
US figures are statewide. A value that is coarser than state level (for example a regional or national figure) would carry a visible badge so the comparison stays fair; bar charts mark such rows with an asterisk.
Sources
| Source | Geography: how the source defines it | Data | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of Israel representative exchange rate (USD/ILS) Bank of Israel | National. One rate for all Israeli prices. | Rate of Oct 23, 2026 Checked Oct 24, 2026; updated daily | Official Bank of Israel statistics, cited with attribution. |
| AHRQ Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, Insurance Component (MEPS-IC), state tables X.C and X.C.1 U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality | Statewide averages for private-sector employees enrolled in single coverage through an employer. Total annual premium (employer + employee share). Shown per month (÷ 12). | 2025 Checked Oct 22, 2026; updated monthly | U.S. federal government work, public domain. (KFF republishes this series; we use the primary source.) |
| Israeli health tax (National Insurance Institute rates) on the CBS average wage, plus Maccabi Zahav supplementary plan National Insurance Institute of Israel; Israel Central Bureau of Statistics; Maccabi Healthcare Services | National rules: the same tax rates and health-fund prices apply across Israel. Calculated for an employee earning the CBS average monthly wage (Israeli workers, total economy) and aged 30–45. | Oct 2026 Checked Oct 22, 2026; updated monthly | Official rates and statistics, cited with attribution; health-fund price list cited from its public page. |
Every data point stores its value in the original unit and currency, the exact source URL, the retrieval date and its geographic level.
Currency and units
- Shekel amounts are converted to dollars at the Bank of Israel representative rate: ₪3.112 per $1, published Oct 23, 2026. The rate updates daily; the original shekel amount is shown under each Israeli value.
- Annual US premiums are shown per month (÷ 12).
- Differences are always state minus Israel: ▲ / + means the state costs more, ▼ / − means it costs less. Within ±5% counts as "about the same".
Map colors
Blue always means Israel, red the US state. On the map a state is red when it costs more than Israel and blue when Israel costs more; darker means a bigger gap (bins at 5%, 15%, 35%, 75%). Gray means within ±5%. Every difference is also written with a sign and a word, so nothing relies on color alone.
Updates and validation
- Daily: the Bank of Israel exchange rate. Monthly: AHRQ MEPS-IC (published annually), the health-tax rates, the CBS average wage and the supplementary-plan price.
- Every update is validated before publishing: schema, coverage (every state, and Israel, must have a value), plausible ranges in USD, unit consistency, and limits on jumps from the last good value. A source that fails keeps its last good data, publishes nothing new, and opens a GitHub issue.
- Past values are kept, so trends can be shown later.