The Israel National Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research (NIHP) is an independent organization, whose goals are:

	To act as a forum and meeting place for professional and public discussions about the
	organization, management and health policy in Israel.
	To promote and fund research of the economics, quality of services and decision-making
	processes in the health system.
	To encourage interdisciplinary scientific cooperation on the national level between
	all players, academic and managerial, whose interest is the promotion of the Israeli
	health system.
	To follow and assess the influence of the National Health Insurance Law on the
	health services in Israel, their quality, effectiveness and cost.

Section 52 (2) of The National Health Insurance Law (1994) established a Health Council whose functions include (among others) supervision over the implementation of the law, management of research, surveys and professional expert opinion carried out by an institute selected by the Minister. In June 1995, the Health Council selected the Israel National Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research to fulfill these tasks with the Minister of Health's recommendation.

The NIHP gathers together researchers, managers and policy makers from the different sectors of the health arena: the Ministry of Health, HMOs, hospitals, universities and research institutes. Its activities include a range of participants: physicians, nurses, other health professionals, health-system-managers, health economists, researchers, scientists from the health services, the Knesset, government ministries and academia.