Skip to content
World Health Systems Facts

Italy: Health System Coverage

Italy: Health System Coverage

Health System Overview
Health System Rankings
Outcomes
Health System Coverage
Costs for Consumers
Health System Expenditures
Italy’s COVID-19 Policy

Health System Financing
Health System Personnel
Health System Physical Resources and Utilization
Long-Term Care
Health Information and Communications Technologies
Medical Training
Pharmaceuticals

Political System
Economic System
Population Demographics
People With Disabilities
Aging
Social Determinants & Health Equity
Health System History
Health System Challenges


Population Insurance Coverage For A Core Set Of Healthcare Services (%) (2019):
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 (2021), Health at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ae3016b9-en.


“As noted in Section 4, the NHS [National 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 migrants are entitled to access urgent and essential services. The basic benefits package covers a wide range of services, and must be guaranteed uniformly across the country. A compliance monitoring system is organised at the national level to identify regions that do not guarantee the basic package to their populations (Ministry of Health, 2021). Regions can also choose to offer services beyond the benefits package list, but must finance these with funds collected from regional taxes.”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2021), Italy: Country Health Profile 2021, 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.


“The SSN covers all citizens and ordinarily resident foreign nationals. Population coverage is automatic and universal. Undocumented migrants are entitled to access only urgent and essential services. Health care for prisoners, which was previously delivered through the Ministry of Justice, was integrated into the SSN in 1999; moreover, prisoners are usually excluded from having to pay co-payments.

“In terms of the scope of coverage, the SSN guarantees the provision of health services included in the national benefits package (LEA) across the entire country. These are delivered through the activities of public providers (i.e. regional and local health care authorities, independent public hospitals (known as “hospital trusts”), university hospital trusts, the tertiary care and research centres (IRCCSs) and private-accredited providers (see Chapter 2). Regions can choose to offer non-LEA services but must finance these themselves. Health care services provided within the SSN (i.e. the LEA) are identified by positive and negative lists using criteria related to medical necessity, effectiveness, human dignity, appropriateness and efficiency in delivery (Lo Scalzo et al., 2009).”

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.


“Positive lists exist for community care services (primary care, emergency care, pharmaceuticals, specialist outpatient care, integrated care, prosthesis care, ambulatory and home care, residential and semi-residential care, and thermal therapy), public health and occupational health services (Torbica & Fattore, 2005). For the latter, there is a list of general community and individual levels of preventive services that are covered, including hygiene and public health, immunization and early diagnosis tools. Hospital services are not specifically defined. Dental care – specifically orthodontics and dental prostheses – is generally not covered and is paid for out of pocket or reimbursed through policies offered by private for-profit and not-for-profit insurance companies (see Box 3.1 and section 3.4).

“Negative lists include ineffective services; services that are covered only on a case-by-case basis, such as orthodontics and laser eye surgery; and inpatient services for which ordinary hospital admissions are likely to be potentially inappropriate (e.g. cataract surgery and carpal tunnel release). For the latter category, regions should provide substitute treatment at other levels of the health care delivery system, such as day hospital and ambulatory care.

“In 2017, the national benefits package was thoroughly revised and updated; in particular new vaccines, services for outpatient care, diagnostic services, neonatal care and health devices were added. It also included a list of rare disease to be covered by the SSN [Italy’s national health service]. Of note, Italy is probably the only country in Europe to introduce a voucher system to subsidize food for patients with coeliac disease.”

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.


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 sixteen other nations.


Page last updated Feb. 1, 2023 by Doug McVay, Editor.

  • Home
  • About Health Systems Facts
    • Contact Us
    • Join Our Email List
  • Breaking News & Opinion
  • Upcoming Events
  • Seventeen National Health Systems
    • Austria
    • Canada
    • Costa Rica
    • Czech Republic
    • Denmark
    • France
    • Germany
    • Hungary
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Netherlands
    • South Korea
    • Spain
    • Sweden
    • Switzerland
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
  • Comparing National Health Systems
    • Healthcare Access and Quality Index
    • Sustainable Development Goals Health Index
    • Mirror Mirror 2021
    • World Health Report 2000
    • International Health Systems In Perspective
    • Lessons for US Health Reform
  • Aging
  • Health System Outcomes
  • Healthcare Spending
  • Healthcare Workers
    • Health System Personnel
    • Health Workforce Training
  • Information and Communications Technologies
  • Long-Term Services and Supports
  • People With Disabilities
  • Pharmaceutical Pricing and Regulation
  • Social Determinants Of Health
  • Wasteful Spending
  • Various US Health System Proposals
    • Affordable Care Act
    • All Payer
    • Public Option
    • Single Payer / “Medicare For All”
    • Universal Health Coverage
  • Recommended Resources
  • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

© 2019-2022 Real Reporting Foundation | Theme by WordPress Theme Detector

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
_GRECAPTCHA5 months 27 daysThis cookie is set by Google. In addition to certain standard Google cookies, reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie (_GRECAPTCHA) when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-71314304-21 minuteThis is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It appears to be a variation of the _gat cookie which is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites.
_gcl_au3 monthsThis cookie is used by Google Analytics to understand user interaction with the website.
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo