Overview

Italy has a regionalized National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, SSN), that provides universal coverage to all citizens and legal residents. The central government provides overall stewardship, sets the national benefits package and allocates funding for the regional health systems. The regions are in charge of financing, planning, and provision of services at the local level. Health expenditure amounted to 8.7% of GDP in 2019, or US$ (PPP) 3998 per capita, somewhat lower than the EU average. Spending on health from public sources accounted for 74% of the total in 2019 but increased subsequently in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the last decade the essential structure of the SSN has not undergone significant changes and most regional health systems have consolidated their governance, planning and delivery systems. National policy developments have centred on new preventive services such as expanding immunisation coverage, patient safety measures, updating the benefits package, restructuring the country’s hospital network and introducing financial recovery plans for regional health systems that exceed their budgets and/or do not deliver the guaranteed core services of the national benefits package. Future developments, supported by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, aim to strengthen primary and community care by investing in infrastructural facilities, to improve digital infrastructure, and to invest in upgrading medical equipment and training for the health workforce.