I'm assuming 10$/month you're talking about the supplementary insurance like "mashlim" that 90% of the people with reasonable income do. The article also says t

I'm assuming 10$/month you're talking about the supplementary insurance like "mashlim" that 90% of the people with reasonable income do. The article also says that 53% of the higher income group also have private insurance, which I'm sure is more expensive than that. (the article is from a few years ago so things might have changed since; I don't know). But I agree that most people probably don't need private insurance. Also to make things clear, when you say people in the US pay hundreds of dollars a month, that's also true for many Israelis. The public insurance is not free if you have a job. The more you make the more you pay. If you work in tech it's likely you're also paying hundreds of dollars a month. (don't get me wrong, I think this system makes sense, it's the same as income taxes). The situation in the US isn't great but it's been much better in the last decade. For example, I live in Massachusetts and everyone in the state is required to have health insurance. If you're low income then you get your insurance from the state.