Italy: People With Disabilities - World Health Systems Facts

Limitations in daily activities in adults aged 65 and over, 2021
– Severe Limitations: 16%
– Some Limitations: 32%
Population aged 15 years and over rating their own health as bad or very bad, 2021: 8.1%
Adults aged 65 and over rating their own health as good or very good, 2021: 43%
Adults aged 65 and over rating their own health as poor or very poor, by income, 2021
– Lowest quintile: 24%
– Highest quintile: 14%
– Total: 20%

Source: OECD (2023), Health at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, doi.org/10.1787/7a7afb35-en.

“Paying for long-term care and residential or semi-residential services, where health care and rehabilitation are provided, is based on cost sharing between the patient and the municipality of residence with important variations across regions and even municipalities. For long-term care there is a universal cash benefit scheme (of EUR 522 per month in 2021) for disabled people, called the Indennità di accompagnamento, along with regional funds (with large differences) and municipality contributions. The level of cost sharing is generally determined by patient income. The health share is fully covered by regional or local health care authorities and is defined on a daily basis (see also section 5.8). The Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan commits the country to establishing a national long-term universal scheme that re-composes all the fragmented sources of funding for social care.”

Source: de Belvis AG, Meregaglia M, Morsella A, Adduci A, Perilli A, Cascini F, Solipaca A, Fattore G, Ricciardi W, Maresso A, Scarpetti G. Italy: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2022; 24(4): pp.i–203.

“Italy does not offer insurance for long-term care; however, a universal national allowance (Indennità di accompagnamento; EUR 525 per month in 2022) is granted by Law 18/1980, irrespective of income status, to non-self-sufficient individuals. Large regional variations exist with regard to the additional resources topped up by other government entities (regions, municipalities).

“Similar facilities exist for disabled people, with different denominations and types, such as socio-rehabilitation communities or centres for the disabled (Centri Diurni per Disabili, CDD). Long-term care for elderly, cognitively or physically disabled people also can be provided in semi-residential settings, such as day centres. These centres provide social, health, rehabilitation, and educational services to people usually aged 18–65 years (although younger people can also be admitted) on the basis of individual projects (Ministero della Salute, undated). Similarly, integrated day centres (Centri Diurni Integrati, CDI) offer social and health care and services to people over 60.

“Lastly, the SSN guarantees home care, i.e. assistance in one’s own home, to non-self-sufficient people or those in a frail condition. Home care services are included in the national benefits package and thus are entirely paid by the SSN, upon a preliminary multidisciplinary evaluation of the patient’s health and social condition. Home care is divided into “scheduled home care” (Assistenza Domiciliare, AD) that provides medical, nursing and/or rehabilitation health services limited to the episode of illness in progress, and “integrated home care” (Assistenza Domiciliare Integrata, ADI) that consists of an integrated set of health and social treatments, delivered in a coordinated and continuous manner. Moreover, “home hospitalization” is a service characterized by diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative services of high complexity and defined duration, provided by a specialist team usually recruited from hospitals.”

Italy: People With Disabilities - Healthcare - limitations in daily activities, dementia, access - National Policies - World Health Systems Facts

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Page last updated April 28, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.