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HEALTH

Tell us: What tips do you have for getting private health treatment in Italy?

With the cost of public health cover on the rise for many foreigners in Italy, more international residents are considering going private to get treatment. What advice do you have for them?

Published: 12 January 2024 17:09 CET
Updated: 15 January 2024 12:02 CET
Some foreigners will have to pay significantly more to use Italy's healthcare service following a 2024 budget announcement.
Some foreigners will have to pay €2,000 to use Italy's healthcare service starting this year. Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP.

For any non-Italian who becomes a legal resident of Italy, adequate health insurance is a requirement; whether that’s a private insurance policy or registration with the Italian public health service (servizio sanitario nazionale, or SSN).

Until now the default option for most has been to sign up with the SSN. For some international residents, this coverage is not free, though The Local’s readers tell us the standards of care are generally good and there’s often no need to pay more to go private.

But from 2024, the Italian government has hiked the minimum annual SSN registration fee from €387 to €2,000, meaning many people are now reconsidering whether private coverage might be a better-value option after all.

As readers are asking for advice on finding the best policy to replace their SSN coverage, we’d like to share advice from those who have already done it.

Please fill out the short survey below to share your experience and any tips you can give on choosing a private healthcare policy in Italy.

 
 
 

Member comments

  1. Due to the long processing time of getting residency in Italy (in my case 15 months after arrival), I had to purchase Private insurance to cover the gap from the termination of my travel insurance policy that I used to apply for the ER Visa in the states and my application for the renewal of my Permesso di Soggiorno. I went with Cigna.@ $297 per month. But here’s the rub, if I were to use the Cigna policy for any claim than I would be on the hook to pay for the entire year. Otherwise I can cancel the contract with 30 days notice when I’m finally able to apply for the SSN coverage. Between this policy and Medicare, I’ve never paid this much for health
    insurance in my entire life.

  2. I chose a Cigna private heath policy. This was needed because my initial travel insurance policy purchased for the ERV had terminated and I needed to apply for a renewal of my PdS. The cheapest policy I could find was $287/montjh. If I didn’t use the policy at all, I could cancel it with 30days notice. But, if I used the policy in any way, I would be obliged to pay the premiums for an entire year. I’ve been in Italy for 15 months and just had my police visit for residency last week. It’s difficult paying out this kind of money essentially for a policy that I can’t even use because I want to apply for the tessera.

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BREXIT

‘In the dark’: Why Brits in Italy are still unable to prove rights to free healthcare

Despite UK and Italian authorities confirming that British residents covered by post-Brexit rules are entitled to healthcare in Italy, many still face "significant problems" in accessing it, the British government has said.

Published: 22 May 2024 13:38 CEST
Updated: 23 May 2024 11:57 CEST
'In the dark': Why Brits in Italy are still unable to prove rights to free healthcare

Cancer patients are among those in need of treatment but unable to access the Italian national health service amid confusion over post-Brexit rules, campaigners say, after clarifications from the UK and Italian governments have so far failed to resolve bureaucratic deadlocks at local authority level.

Since the end of the Brexit transition period in 2021, many British nationals resident in Italy covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) have reported difficulties in proving their right to free healthcare under the Italian public system.

The problem was exacerbated this year after the Italian government in January hiked the minimum annual fee for ‘voluntary’ healthcare registration from €387 to €2,000, which many said they were unable to pay.

The British government in February stepped in to clarify that UK nationals covered by the WA should not be subject to charges for healthcare, and on its Living in Italy website it advised those affected to show their local health authority office (Azienda Sanitaria Locale, or ASL) an official note published by the Italian health ministry on February 15th which sets out their rights (find it here, in Italian.)

WA beneficiaries “can compulsorily enrol (iscrizione obbligatoria) with the Italian National Health System,” states the final section, pointing out that the deal, “in Article 23, provides for equal treatment with domestic nationals.”

But for some local health officials, even this written confirmation does not appear to be enough to clear up the confusion.

READ ALSO: ‘Life or death situation’: Brits facing high Italian healthcare costs amid rule change uncertainty

The UK government on Friday, May 17th, updated its guidance to say it had become aware that “some beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement are facing significant problems accessing health services and renewing their healthcare cards,” despite its advice to show local health authorities the official note.

British nationals continue to report that local health authorities around Italy remain unwilling to issue them with a health card, while campaigners say the situation is further complicated for some by the fact that Italian authorities have also refused to issue proof of their permanent residency status, which entitles them to free healthcare.

This was the case for Graham Beresford, a British citizen living in Abruzzo who has been diagnosed with a rare cancer and remains unable to access the free healthcare he is entitled to, as he says local authorities don’t understand the post-Brexit rules.

Graham told The Local in April that the government’s clarifications on the issue had made little difference – his ASL continues to demand he pay the 2,000-euro charge.

READ ALSO: Can I get a refund after wrongly paying Italy’s €2,000 healthcare fee?

“Every time I go to my ASL office, I always feel like I’m dismissed,” Graham said. “I told the ASL worker I need medication for my cancer and she replied lots of people come in here with sob stories.

“There genuinely seems to be no compassion whatsoever.”

Graham’s story was reported in The Guardian on May 12th ahead of UK foreign secretary David Cameron’s first major meeting with European commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič to discuss post-Brexit relations.

Campaigners also wrote to Cameron in April to appeal for help with the “desperate” situation faced by those unable to access care in Italy.

In its update to the Living in Italy website on Friday, the British government stated: “Since [the health ministry’s note] was published, and particularly in recent days and weeks, it has become clear to us that not all Italian authorities are consistently following this guidance.”

“We are urgently speaking to all relevant parts of the Italian government to clarify the situation so that we can give clear advice to those affected as soon as possible. 

“We also know that this problem is linked to the many difficulties some are experiencing with obtaining an attestazione di soggiorno permanente and/or the Carta di Soggiorno permanente. We are working to help with these issues too.

“We will update this page as soon as we have further news.”

READ ALSO: ‘We are desperate’: Why the UK must help Britons with Italian healthcare charges

Clarissa Killwick from Beyond Brexit, a group for UK citizens in Italy, said the situation “should never have been allowed to happen” and that there had been “a series of communication failures and inconsistencies.”

“We’re not far short of five months after the introduction of the €2,000 new minimum for voluntary contributions and there is still no clarity,” she added.

“There are fraught exchanges in public offices because people on both sides of the counter are in the dark or with conflicting information.

“People need information they can rely on, unequivocally. What do you say to someone who is waiting for an operation but has no idea what is going on?”

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