By 2030, Israel’s population is expected to rapidly grow from almost nine million citizens to more than 11 million, four times greater than the average population growth rate in the developed world.

Trend reports citing The Times of Israel.

The unprecedented population boom is predicted to have a significant impact on many sectors of Israeli life – the economy, environment, education system and, of course, the health system.

The health system, in particular, will face the critical challenge of caring for an increasingly aging and elderly population.

According to population projections published by the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2013, Israel’s elderly population is expected to reach about 1.66 million people by 2035, or 14.6% of the population.

Speaking at a Ministry of Health-organized conference discussing the health system’s readiness for the decade ahead, ministry director-general Moshe Bar Siman Tov said plans are being made “with an understanding that the decade will be the most challenging for the health system yet.”

Challenges faced by the health system today, including rising medication prices, overcrowding in hospitals and long waiting times, will continue to require increased intervention and resources over the coming ten years.

“Technological developments will change the way we manage the system, but these developments also pose social, ethical and economical dilemmas,” said Bar Siman Tov.

“These dilemmas are not straightforward today, and they will become more complicated in the future.”

Comparatively low health care costs currently enjoyed by Israelis will need to rise in future, Bar Siman Tov said, while the ministry believes the public will be willing to pay more as long as they understand that it will receive improved treatment in return.

Last year, Health Ministry management opted to build a strategic plan until 2030 based on trends expected to shape the future of medicine.

“I am pleased to know that you are planning for the coming years,” President Reuven Rivlin told the conference, applauding the hundreds of doctors and other health workers present.

“The ability to hold strategic-level debates now for the next decade is testament to the health of the health system. It is a system that doesn’t just put out fires, rather it is busy with programming looking to the future.”