Healthcare in Italy

Healthcare in Italy is a system that helps everyone get medical care, no matter who they are. The government pays for most of it, and everyone helps share the cost through taxes. This idea comes from the Italian Constitution, which says health is a basic right for all people.

People in Italy live long lives because of this good healthcare. In 2018, the average person lived about 83 years, which is one of the highest numbers in the world. The country spends a big part of its money—about 9.7% of everything it makes—on healthcare.

Italy started its public healthcare system in 1978. It is called the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale and is managed by the Ministry of Health. Each region of Italy helps run its own part of the system, a change that came after a vote by the people in 2001.

universal healthcare
Beveridge model
Life expectancy
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2001 Italian constitutional referendum

History

After World War II, Italy rebuilt its health system. It included social health insurance managed by different funds. By the 1970s, this system had problems because not everyone was covered equally. Leaders in Italy made big changes. In 1978, they created the National Health Service. This service aimed to give healthcare to everyone through taxes. Private healthcare still existed but was only for people who wanted extra services.

National Health Service

The National Health Service started in 1978. It gives healthcare to all citizens and residents. It uses both public and private services. The public part is called the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN). It is managed by the Ministry of Health and organized by regions. Each region must offer basic healthcare services to everyone living there.

Family doctors are paid by the SSN. They must see patients at least five days a week. Each doctor can have up to 1500 patients. People can choose their own family doctor if available. Prescription drugs need a doctor's order. If your family doctor writes the order, the drugs often cost less. Some medicines for people with low incomes are free. Over-the-counter drugs are paid for by the person buying them. They can be found in supermarkets now.

Visits to specialist doctors or diagnostic tests can be done at public hospitals or private ones. If your family doctor writes the order, you might pay a small copay. Poor people get these for free. Waiting times can be long at big public hospitals but shorter at smaller private facilities. In June 2024, the government made changes to help reduce waiting times. This includes opening clinics on weekends and creating a single phone number to find available appointments.

Performance

The Italian National Outcomes Programme helps measure how good healthcare is in each region, and the results can be very different. For example, in 2016, the time it took for patients to get a special heart treatment after a heart attack ranged from about 15% in some places to nearly 50% in others. This difference was bigger than in 11 other countries studied.

A report in January 2025 showed that only 20% of people pay more in taxes than they get back from healthcare services. The system needs about €40 billion more to meet European Union standards.

Family physician

A family doctor in Italy studies medicine for six years. After this, they take a three-year course to become a family doctor. This course teaches important skills and includes time in real doctor’s offices.

To become a family doctor, someone must finish medical studies at a public university. Then, they join a special program to complete their training. There are only a few spots each year for these programs. People who do not have a permanent home or address cannot have a family doctor by law.

Main articles: out-of-hours service, general medicine

Homeless, domicile, primary residence

Nurses

Italy has fewer nurses than patients in its hospitals. Some areas bring nurses from other countries to help. For example, Lombardy uses nurses from Argentina, and other places get nurses from Paraguay, Albania, and Indonesia. The minister plans to hire some of the 3 million nurses from India to meet this need.

Drugs

The Italian Medicines Agency decides which medicines can be sold in Italy. It talks about prices with companies and decides if the government will help pay for them.

Medicines are split into three groups:

• Ones patients pay fully
• Ones the government pays fully
• Ones paid partly by patients and partly by the government (this last group is no longer used since 2000)

In the second group, patients get the medicine for free from pharmacies, and the government pays later.

Some people, like those older than 65 or younger than 6, or those with certain long health problems, don’t have to pay for their medicines. People without homes can’t get this help because they need a home address to prove their income.

Patients can choose between a generic drug and brand-name medicines that work the same way, but they might have to pay more for the brand-name one.

In 2025, rules changed so that medicines for common health problems like heart disease or memory loss would not get special government funding, depending on the patient’s health situation. Local areas in Italy can decide to help more people pay for their medicines.

Pharmacies

In Italy, pharmacies now offer more than just medicines. You can also buy some medicines in supermarkets. Pharmacies have become places where doctors, hospitals, and health workers can help patients.

Pharmacies in Italy can do many health checks, like heart tests, lung tests, and blood sugar checks. They can give vaccines, such as flu and COVID-19 shots, and do simple tests for infections. Some areas even let pharmacies collect samples for cancer screening. This makes it easier for people to get care close to home.

Diagnostics

By June 2026, money from the European Union will help Italy replace 3,000 old medical machines with new ones. These new machines include CT scanners, MRI machines, and other important tools. This project will cost €1.2 billion. As of October 2025, about 2,800 of these new machines have been tested and are now used in hospitals across Italy. This replacement covers about one-third of the 9,000 medical machines currently in use, many of which are old and need updating. The funding for this project does not cover the cost of training the staff needed to use the new equipment.

Emergency medicine

Main article: Emergency medical services in Italy

In Italy, all public hospitals give first aid. If you need help right away, it is free for everyone, no matter who you are. Sometimes, if it is not an emergency, you might have to pay a small amount, but help will still be given.