Il Servizio Sanitario Nazionale
Italy's National Health Service
Elisa Moroni
Transcript
The National Health Service guarantees free or nearly free care to all citizens.
Founded in 1978, it replaced a system based on fragmented mutual insurance funds.
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The founding principle is simple: health is a right, not a privilege.
Each region, however, manages its own health system autonomously.
This creates enormous differences between the North and the South of the country.
While some regions offer excellent services, others struggle to guarantee the basics.
Waiting lists have become the most discussed problem in recent years.
For a specialist visit, you can wait even several months.
Many patients, unable to wait, turn to the private sector.
This, however, undermines the principle of equality the system was built on.
Medical staff, moreover, complain about low salaries and exhausting shifts.
Despite the difficulties, the system remains among the most admired in the world.
The challenge for the future is funding it without betraying its original spirit.