Population Insurance Coverage For A Core Set Of Healthcare Services (%) (2017):
Public Coverage: 100%; Primary Private Health Coverage: 0%; Total: 100%

*“Population coverage for health care is defined here as the share of the population eligible for a core set of health care services – whether through public programmes or primary private health insurance. The set of services is country-specific but usually includes consultations with doctors, tests and examinations, and hospital care. Public coverage includes both national health systems and social health insurance. On national health systems, most of the financing comes from general taxation, whereas in social health insurance systems, financing typically comes from a combination of payroll contributions and taxation. Financing is linked to ability-to-pay. Primary private health insurance refers to insurance coverage for a core set of services, and can be voluntary or mandatory by law (for some or all of the population.”

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

“The Italian health system is characterised by a decentralised, regionally based national health service (NHS). The central government channels general tax revenues for publicly financed health care, defines the benefit package (known as the livelli essenziali di assistenza, ‘essential levels of care’) and exercises overall stewardship. Each region is responsible for the organisation and delivery of health services through local health units and public and accredited private hospitals. The health service covers all citizens and legal foreign residents. Coverage is automatic and universal, and care is generally free for hospital and medical services. Irregular immigrants have been entitled to access urgent and essential services since 1998.”

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 services are mainly delivered by public providers, alongside private or public-private entities. GPs and paediatricians act as gatekeepers for access to secondary care. Under the NHS, patients can choose either public or private providers for hospital care and specialised ambulatory services, usually depending on perceived quality and waiting time.

“Recognising that new types of services are required to meet emerging care needs, a national initiative designed to improve the coordination of chronic care was launched in September 2016 (Piano Nazionale della Cronicità; Ministry of Health, 2016). A number of regions are piloting the implementation of different health service models, through multispecialty community-based centres and case management that combine health and social care, to better respond to the needs of patients with co-morbidities. However, in most cases these pilots have not been subject to formal evaluation.”

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.

“Italy’s health-care system is a regionally organized National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, SSN) that provides universal coverage largely free of charge at the point of delivery. At national level, the Ministry of Health (supported by several specialized agencies) sets the fundamental principles and goals of the health system, determines the core benefit package of health services guaranteed across the country and allocates national funds to the regions. The regions are responsible for organizing and delivering health care. At local level, geographically based local health authorities (Aziende Sanitarie Locali) deliver public health, community health services and primary care directly, and secondary and specialist care directly or through either public hospitals or accredited private providers.

“Patient empowerment and patient rights are not specified by a single law but are present in several pieces of legislation, starting with the Italian Constitution and the founding law of the national health system. Over the last 20 years, several tools have been introduced for public participation at all levels but no systematic strategy exists and implementation varies across the country, as does the satisfaction of citizens with the quality of health care. Over the last few years, measures have been taken to tackle excessive recourse to legal action against doctors and to prevent defensive medicine practices.”

Source: Ferré F, de Belvis AG, Valerio L, Longhi S, Lazzari A, Fattore G, Ricciardi W, Maresso A. Italy: Health System Review. Health Systems in Transition, 2014, 16(4):1–168.

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.