Healthcare costs continue to have a significant impact on family budgets. And more and more people, especially in Sardinia, are forgoing treatment.
These are some of the data contained in the 9th Report on the National Health Service by the Gimbe Foundation presented to the Chamber of Deputies.
In 2025, the Foundation notes, of a total of €190.1 billion in healthcare spending in Italy, €42.4 billion was borne by Italian citizens, who, when possible, seek coverage through funds and insurance, while in many other cases—5.8 million do so—they forgo treatment. And in this scenario, Sicily is, as mentioned, the Italian region with the highest percentage of citizens reporting having forgone one or more healthcare services: 17.2% versus the national average of 9.9%.
"According to the ISTAT definition," Gimbe specifies, "the indicator considers the forgoing, even when necessary, of specialist visits—excluding dental visits—or diagnostic tests due to excessive waiting times, economic reasons, or difficulty accessing them."
"This phenomenon has not only grown," Gimbe emphasizes, "but has spread throughout the country, also involving segments of the population that before the Covid pandemic were in a position of "relative advantage," such as residents of the North and people with higher levels of education."
"When waiting times, financial resources, and place of residence affect access to healthcare services, the very foundation of the social contract is at stake," emphasizes Gimbe President Nino Cartabellotta . He adds: "A service guaranteed on paper, but inaccessible in reality, leaves citizens alone to address their healthcare needs."
Furthermore, the 2026 Gimbe report highlights how Sardinia is the Italian region that has recorded the most significant decline in general practitioners: between 2019 and 2024, -40.3%, compared to a national average, also declining, of -14.1%.
