An increasing number of patients are
travelling from southern Italy to the North to seek treatment
with Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto the destinations of
choice for many, independent health foundation GIMBE reported on
Wednesday.
The three northern regions alone totalled 94.1% of such
health-related expenses, the foundation said.
Overall, in 2022, the cost of healthcare mobility to different
regions reached a record 5.04 billion euros, the highest level
ever registered, up by 18.6% on 2021, when the cost was 4.25
billion.
The data elaborated by GIMBE showed a rising imbalance between
the healthcare services provided in the North and South, with a
huge number of patients and economic resources leaving southern
Italy towards Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto, the most
attractive regions.
The president of the GIMBE Foundation Nino Cartabellotta said
"these numbers certify that healthcare mobility is not a free
choice of citizens anymore, but a need imposed by deep
inequalities in the regional health services offered.
"An increasing number of people are forced to move to receive
adequate care, with unsustainable economic, psychological and
social costs", he noted.
The highest price is paid by the Abruzzo, Calabria, Campania,
Sicilia, Lazio and Puglia regions, which represent 78.8% of
costs of health-related mobility with patients from these areas
seeking treatment elsewhere.
Cartabellotta warned the phenomenon shows a "structural
fracture" in the National Healthcare System, adding that it
could worsen after the recent approval of the new
'differentiated autonomy' law, which enables regions to keep
much of their tax take for their own spending.
"Without adequate corrections, the reform will end up boosting
and legitimizing inequalities, transforming the right to health
into a privilege connected to the address of residence", he
noted.
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