Hi everybody,
I am new to Italy and to this Forum. I am a EU citizen who came to live in Italy from Canada. As an EU member with a valid passport I went to my Municipo in Montaione (Fi)to apply for Permesso di Residenza. The lady there gave me a form Richiesta Inscrizione Anagrafica da estero da parte di cittadini dell'Unione Europea. As a condition for Permesso di Residenza/Carta d'Identita I have to have a private Health Insurance for at least a year, she said. She mentioned the cost E 300.00 - 400.00. I have been dealing with two private companies so far and the cost ranges from E 800.00 - E 1,500.00and in both cases it is a coverage for emergencies and stay in hospital ONLY. I and my italian friends from whom I am renting long term have been running around for 3 weeks totally confused and frustrated. The main issue being: "as an EU citizen I should have access to SSN = free public/basic health services as any Italian. However, in order to get that, I need Residency and for that I am obliged to get 1 year private insurance? Once with Permesso di Residenza I should get la desired Tessera Sanitaria and be assigned a family doctor. In that case, though, I don't need a private Health Insurance for the basic coverage?
At USL they said they would give me la Tessera as soon as I have La Carta di Residenza. The Municipo, though, insists that I must have a job (= be paying taxes here) to get that. So have been feeling like a dog chasing his tail. Would appreciate any information sharing your experiences with getting into the SSN. I am retired with limited private resources and may have a part time occassional job in the future.
Thanks for your help,
Jana

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The main issue being: "as an EU citizen I should have access to SSN = free public/basic health services as any Italian. However, in order to get that, I need Residency and for that I am obliged to get 1 year private insurance?

I'm assuming you are not a pensioner and have not made contributions to another EU country's national health care system.

As an EU citizen, after 5 years of residenza you can enroll in SSN. Till then, you need private health cover.

I'd try to get the cheapest insurance you can find. For emergencies, SSN will take care of you even if you are not enrolled.

Apparently the post office sells a very cheap health insurance policy- I saw this on anther thread:

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go to the local post office and sign up for their insurance. There are different levels of coverage. I got the very basic one and was able to apply for residency. Like you I am an EU citizen who has not live in the EU. You must have insurance to get residency.

As an EU citizen you are entitled to full health care in your HOME country - where you have paid for such care. Then if you move to another EU country there will be reciprocal agreements which can be granted by USL (now called ASL) upon production of your E111 if you're a visitor, an E121 if you are a pensioner or by showing your Health Card from your home country and a suitable heath care insurance if you are not a visitor and are of working/studying age.

Have a look at >this< link and browse the site - it will explain many of the points you seem to be having a problem with...

If I understand Jana correctly, she has EU citizenship but is from Canada. It appears she hasn't paid into an EU health system.

The E111 is only good for 90 days of SSN cover as I understand it.

Jana, try this. Get a traveler's insurance like I use to go to the US. I buy mine from Europe Assistance because they offer so many different terms. Buy minimum if you are in good health, because medical services that you must pay for are relatively cheap.
Then get your Carta and on January 2 go to USL with it and pay for the state insurance. One tip: the world income they charge against doesn't include savings and investments.

E111 cards are issued by your normal EU country of residence and entitle you to - as Bill says - 90 continuous days of emergency medical care. For residenza purposes, they're useless.

Yes, as an EU citizen, to obtain residenza, you need an acceptable level of private health insurance. What counts as 'acceptable' varies from comune to comune. As far as I know, there is no 'national standard requirement' which states that 'A minimum €xxx of health insurance cover is mandatory'.

However, I'm curious about Bill's '5-year wait before SSN enrolment'. I have no idea if our residenza procedure was normal or not, but on the same day that we collected our ID cards in June this year, (about a month after our residenza application), we were bustled off to get our green Tessera Sanitaria cards at the local Health HQ and choose a Doctor. Shortly after, a c/card sized Tessera card arrived by post with our codice fiscale numbers.

Since then, we've been to see the Dr...paid what I guess is a standard charge for a prescription (around €9)...and been to the local hospital for a couple of routine medical bits/pieces for which we paid what seemed to be a (low, subsidised) standard charge paid by everyone else. It's all been very straightforward - and actually pretty efficient.


Question is - what do we get after 5 yrs that we don't get now ?

Thank you all: Bill2, Judith in Umbria and Dee Bee for your information and all the useful tips. I will tackle this issue tomorrow and will let you know my progress. Yes, Bill 2, you were right in saying that I am an EU citizen who lived many years in Canada, therefore was not contributing to the EU system. Thanks again.
Jana

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I'm curious about Bill's '5-year wait before SSN enrolment'

Maybe varies by regione? This applies only to unemployed persons. Does not apply if a person works and is contributing to SSN:

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Chi ha diritto all'iscrizione al SSN:
- titolari di attestazioni di soggiorno permanente, cioe' cittadini dell'Unione che hanno soggiornato in Italia continuativamente e legalmente per 5 anni. Queste persone possono ottenere dal Comune italiano di residenza una attestazione di soggiorno permanente che da' diritto all'iscrizione al SSN a tempo indeterminato

ministero della Salute, circolare esplicativa del 3 agosto 2007
http://www.aduc.it/dyn/immigrazione/arti.php?id=190767

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Then get your Carta and on January 2 go to USL with it and pay for the state insurance. One tip: the world income they charge against doesn't include savings and investments.

My understanding is EU citizens cannot pay for state insurance- must buy private cover.

Another option is to get a job and show ASL the contract and some payslips. I'm also a citizen of another EU country but was not able to get an E111 as I've never been resident there. I was told that my two options were a) to get private insurance for a year or b) to get a job and start paying into the Italian system. I chose the latter. This was in 2005 though and things may have changed since then.