Over 2 million Italians between the ages of 18 and 74, or 5.3% of the population, postponed medical visits or dental care in 2024 because they could not afford them. The situation is even more serious among those suffering from chronic diseases, where the percentage rises to 9.2%.
This is what emerges from the latest report by Inapp (National Institute for the Analysis of Public Policies), based on data from the Indagine Plus.
Private health insurance policies help, but they do not solve the problem: among those who do not have health insurance, 5.3% postpone treatment; among those who do, the percentage drops to 3.3%. Only 13.7% of Italians currently have a health insurance policy, while another 10.6% would like to activate it.
"Health insurance policies can represent an alternative and a complement to help reduce waiting times and expand access to services not covered by the NHS, offering greater protection to workers who benefit from them through collective agreements - comments Natale Forlani, president of Inapp -. It is important, however, to ensure that supplementary assistance continues to strengthen and integrate the public service, maintaining its centrality and universality".