Annual household out-of-pocket payment, current USD per capita (2017): $667

Source: Global Health Expenditure Database. Health expenditure series. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Oct. 6, 2020.

Out-of-Pocket Spending as Share of Final Household Consumption (%) (2017): 3.4%

Source: OECD (2019), Health at a Glance 2019: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/4dd50c09-en.

“Historically, OOP spending has made up a little more than one-fifth of all health spending. However, over the last decade, the share has gradually increased, reflecting rising cost-sharing requirements for many health services and pharmaceuticals in several regions (see Section 5.2). Co-payments are required for diagnostic procedures, pharmaceuticals, specialist visits in outpatient settings and unjustified (non-urgent) interventions in hospital emergency departments. Each region establishes its own co-payment levels for pharmaceuticals, with various exemptions for some population groups, meaning that co-payment levels are not homogeneous across the country. There are no annual ceilings on co-payments, so these have the greatest impact for heavy users of health services who are not eligible for exemptions.”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2019), Italy: Country Health Profile 2019, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

“Although the basic benefit package covers a wide range of services, direct out-of-pocket (OOP) payments by households are relatively high (24 %), making up most of the remaining expenses. Private health insurance plays a minor role, covering only about 2 % of total health expenditure.”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2019), Italy: Country Health Profile 2019, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

“A large proportion of OOP payments in Italy are spent on outpatient medical care, making up about 40 % of the total (of which about half is on dental care). Outpatient pharmaceuticals constitute about 30 % of OOP spending. While GP consultations are free, co-payments are levied on specialist visits with a GP referral (without a referral, the full cost is paid by patients), diagnostic procedures and pharmaceuticals (for non-reimbursed medicines and when there are regional co-payments and co-payments resulting from the difference between the price of the purchased product and that of a cheaper alternative).”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2019), Italy: Country Health Profile 2019, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and several other nations.

Page last updated April 20, 2021 by Doug McVay, Editor.