In Italy, healthcare is considered a right. As a general rule, every foreign citizen can enjoy public health benefits in Italy. The comprehensive national health system is designed to provide assistance for all Italian citizens and residents, including foreign citizens who are legal residents of Italy. Foreigners registered with the National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale – SSN) are guaranteed full assistance under the same conditions as Italian citizens.
Medical care is provided through a network of hospitals, which can be either public or accredited private providers. Those registered are entitled to:
Most care is free or low-cost. All patients (including foreigners legally resident) are asked to pay a co-pay fee (called “ticket”) before undergoing specialist examinations and for medicines. Exemptions exist for reasons such as chronic diseases, low-income patients, etc.. Co-payment is required for visits and medical examinations as well as for medicines, calculated on the basis of the individual’s income.
Healthcare facilities may vary in terms of quality in different regions of Italy. Foreigners may experience difficulties when attempting to register with or even obtain information from the Health authorities. This is because rules are often applied unevenly throughout Italy or even within the same region, sometimes due to the lack of clarity and sometimes because the public office staff is insufficiently trained.
Foreign nationals residing abroad may organize planned medical treatment in Italy, for instance, if they need to undergo a special therapy available in the country. Italy offers a special visa for “medical care”, this type of visa can also be issued to an accompanying person.
After the applicant has organized the medical treatment and has made contact with the hospital or clinic of choice (it may be a public or private facility, provided it is acknowledged by Italian health authorities), next step is to collect the relevant documents and prepare the visa application that can be applied for by the applicant or by a family member or another representative on behalf of him/her.
In general, the visa application package includes the following documents
Once the visa is issued the foreigner can travel to Italy and must apply for the relevant residence permit within 8 days from arrival. The residence permit for medical care can be extended for the whole duration of the medical treatment.
As required by the Schengen rules, any foreign visitors traveling to Italy must ensure he/she is covered by a medical insurance valid for Schengen area covering medical fees, hospitalization and repatriation cost up to €30,000.
You have certain health care rights during a temporary stay. You can access both emergency and standard healthcare services. In the first case, payment must correspond upon hospital discharge. In case of “non-emergency” treatment, advanced payment is required.
In case of need for medical assistance, foreign visitors in Italy can seek medical treatment either from public or private hospitals. Public hospitals provide both emergency and non-emergency services while private hospitals do normally provide non-emergency services only and do not have first aid service.
At public hospitals, emergency services are provided at no cost or upon payment of a limited fee, while non-emergency services are subject to a fee set locally by the Regional Health Authority. Private hospitals normally charge much higher fees than public hospitals. Of course, it is also possible to visit a private doctor by arranging an appointment directly with him/her.
When leaving the medical facility, the hospital will issue an invoice for the payment of the service: make sure to obtain a receipt as you can claim reimbursement from the private insurance plan that covers you.
The emergency number (for immediate medical attention or to call an ambulance) is 118. Otherwise, you can access the first aid station (Pronto Soccorso) directly.
Mazzeschi S.r.l. | Operazione/Progetto finanziato nel quadro del POR FESR Toscana 2014-2020
Il progetto ITACA (ITaly Attract ChinA) è un investimento nei paesi/mercati a lingua cinese, in particolare Taiwan con l’obiettivo di accrescere le quote di mercato dell'azienda. Tramite ITACA la Mazzeschi Srl ha aperto un ufficio a Taiwan con assunzione di personale di lingua cinese, creato un sito internet in lingua cinese e partecipato a fiere e varie attività di promozione a Taiwan.
Mazzeschi S.r.l. | Project co-financed under Tuscany POR FESR 2014-2020
The ITACA project (ITaly Attract ChinA) is a fund to invest in Chinese-speaking countries/markets, in particular Taiwan with the aim of increasing the company's market shares. With the help of ITACA project, Mazzeschi Srl has opened an office in Taiwan and has hired a Chinese-speaking staff, created a Chinese website and participated in fairs and various promotional activities in Taiwan.