Italian Govt Eyes Health Sector For Savings

Italy's government is eyeing the state health system as a major source of savings, as it tries to put in place the 1996 financial bill aimed at cutting the state budget deficit by some 32,500 billion lire ($19 billion) next year. Work towards the 1996 budget is now strongly underway after the summer break, as Lamberto Dini's government aims to present it to parliament by mid-September.

Talks are underway among ministers with experts, unions and industrialists. Government experts point to the health sector as one of the few places where the state can produce some of the 16,000 billion lire ($10 billion) spending cuts which the government pledges. The remaining 16,500 billion lire needed to keep the deficit under 109,400 billion lire will come from extra revenues, including some taxation.

Health measures being discussed include extending nationwide the ticket, or patient contribution, which some regions already apply for emergency services by hospitals. Other measures under consideration include a hike on the ticket on prescriptions. No set figure from such measures has yet been circulated, nor consideration of any impact they might have on inflation and the pharmaceutical industry.