Italy’s NHS: current government not entirely to blame for crisis

Paterlini’s description of the Italian NHS, as it is set up today, is accurate—it is struggling to survive.1 But some of the factors in the article that are assumed to be the cause of the crisis must be contextualised and downsized.Nino Cartabellotta is quoted as saying, “For at least 20 years, the governments have deliberately planned the health system’s failure—to the advantage of the private sector.” If there is such a plan, most healthcare systems in the world are part of the same conspiracy. From the 1990s onwards, investments in the private sector have been made everywhere to handle an ever expanding healthcare demand with limited public resources. Not only in Italy. Not only in healthcare. In both Beveridge and Bismarck healthcare systems.234Most of the private sector mentioned by the author is covered by the NHS at the same price, allowing citizens to choose where to seek treatment and reduce…
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