hey all,

so in about a month and a half i'm off to italy with work visa in hand (fingers crossed) and i'm wondering about the kind of health coverage i'll get.

first of all, i'm not entirely clear on the kind of coverage i'll get with my work visa, but i guess that's another question all together and i need to just get a hold of my employer for those kind of Qs. (any non-EUers out there with work visas-- feel free to share, are you entitled to free healthcare, too?)

what i really want to know is: what kind of restrictions are there for pre-existing conditions? i have a heart condition that isn't too serious, but something i need annual check-ups, x-rays, and ekg's for. up until this year i was covered by my parents and now i'm covered at work... but when i was trying to get travel insurance for my last trip to italy, many of the plans were very clear that treatment for pre-existing conditions (like mine) were not covered. i'm worried that many italian health insurance providers will have similar policies.

can anyone enlighten me on the types of restrictions there are like this in italy?? i will be very sad indeed if i have to pay out of pocket for all my heart check-ups....

thanks!

To the best of my knowledge you can only get a work visa if you're making enough money to pay into the national health service. So you'll covered by that. I don't think you'd be treated any different to any other person living in Italy.

The Italian health system is NOT an insurance, therefore preexisting conditions do not influence it, except in terms of sometimes making more services available to the person with said condition. Essentially, it is a solidaristic system where the expenses are paid for by a mandatory contribution from each citizen or legal resident that is proportional to the income of each of us, not to our health conditions. The money thus collected fund the health system, which in turn hands out the assistance according to the individual needs. At least, that's the principle. As a legal resident of Italy you will be able to enlist in the SSN, or rather in the SS Regionale of the region you will be living in, paying a moderate tax on your yearly income or a fixed amount of money if you will keep paying taxes to your country of origin (in your case the US). In return oyou will have the full coverage that is made available to each citizen or resident of your region. If your heart condition is deemed severe enough, you may also be granted further services for it. Basically, you should be able to have your periodical check-ups for free totally, as well as any medications directly connected to your conditions, with no need to copay (while the general public will have to copay some of the services).

quote:

Originally posted by piccola katie:
i'm worried that many italian health insurance providers will have similar policies.

can anyone enlighten me on the types of restrictions there are like this in italy?? i will be very sad indeed if i have to pay out of pocket for all my heart check-ups....

thanks!

After a ticket-paid visit (14 euros circa)to what will be your local asl's cardiologist you will get a certificate stating your existing disease and a CARTELLINO DI ESENZIONE will be then issued for you to avoid paying any kind of visit and exam you need for your checks happy to say: you do not need an insurance! All will be free! In italy millions of people do not have health insurance and most of them have a free service due to invalidita' or "poverty". You get free health service if above 65 and with an annual income lower than a certain amount of euros per year too. feel free to ASK me more questions

This message has been edited. Last edited by: pinkluna,

quote:

Originally posted by pinkluna:

quote:

Originally posted by piccola katie:
i'm worried that many italian health insurance providers will have similar policies.

can anyone enlighten me on the types of restrictions there are like this in italy?? i will be very sad indeed if i have to pay out of pocket for all my heart check-ups....

thanks!

After a ticket-paid visit (14 euros circa)to what will be your local asl's cardiologist you will get a certificate stating your existing disease and a CARTELLINO DI ESENZIONE will be then issued for you to avoid paying any kind of visit and exam you need for your checks happy to say: you do not need an insurance! All will be free! In italy millions of people do not have health insurance and most of them have a free service due to invalidita' or "poverty". You get free health service if above 65 and with an annual income lower than a certain amount of euros per year too. feel free to email me with more questions

pinkluna
We have always tried here to get members to post their question 'on site' for the simple reason that if the questions have been answered previously the individual can be directed there by others, or if it is a new query then all of us can profit by the subsequent debate and final response.

You will find very few invitations to e-mail for further information on this site. An individual may choose themselves to e-mail Cristina, a moderator or an existing member, to ask a question - and this happened to me only a few days ago - but after answering the question I made the same point that I have made here - The idea is to SHARE information - not set up a private information centre!

Carole B.

Sorry, I should have picked up on this other point you made too.....

..............................................
"After a ticket-paid visit (14 euros circa)to what will be your local asl's cardiologist you will get a certificate stating your existing disease and a CARTELLINO DI ESENZIONE will be then issued for you to avoid paying any kind of visit and exam you need for your checks"
...............................................

This is not strictly true. An Exemption Certificate (Certificato d'Essenzione) will indeed free you from certain costs. But for a cardiac patient for example, it will only exempt you from those requirements strictly needed for the heart problems!If you have other 'related' problems with for example your kidney's or breathing/lung problems - despite being related they do NOT attract the relevant exemption codes regarding totally free treatment!
Carole B.

The over 65 rule also doesn't apply to most of us. It applies only if you have been contributing through your work life. I wasn't told how many years, but it's substantial.
Versus France, where my friend retired and received a small additonal pension just for being over 60 and a resident!

quote:

Originally posted by Judith in Umbria:

Versus France, where my friend retired and received a small additonal pension just for being over 60 and a resident!

Italy has signed various social security agreements with other countries. I don't know about the USA but I assume they are one of the countries. The agreements provide certain benefits to people that move between countries. But you'll want to pay close attention to the details to make sure no downsides exist.

quote:

Originally posted by Carole B.:
Sorry, I should have picked up on this other point you made too.....

..............................................
"After a ticket-paid visit (14 euros circa)to what will be your local asl's cardiologist you will get a certificate stating your existing disease and a CARTELLINO DI ESENZIONE will be then issued for you to avoid paying any kind of visit and exam you need for your checks"
...............................................

This is not strictly true. An Exemption Certificate (Certificato d'Essenzione) will indeed free you from certain costs.

That is what i meant. INFACT i wrote "a CARTELLINO DI ESENZIONE will be then issued for you to avoid paying any kind of visit and exam you need for your checks" meaning the cardiac condition's one.
And i did not mean to set up a private conversation about such matters. I did not mean to upset anybody or not follow some rules. i just said so without thinking. I just offered my help.

quote:

Originally posted by Judith in Umbria:
The over 65 rule also doesn't apply to most of us. It applies only if you have been contributing through your work life. I wasn't told how many years, but it's substantial.
Versus France, where my friend retired and received a small additonal pension just for being over 60 and a resident!

Never read of such rule here is Lazio. Probably i don't know enough or it is just different here. I did deal with foreign people resident here over 65 with a low income that have esenzione but i honestly never asked them for how long they have been living in italy or if they contributed ever.

thanks for all your informative responses!

quote:

originally posted by alice twain: The Italian health system is NOT an insurance

ya... being a youngin' i'm still new to actually taking care of healthcare costs and see only through the eyes of a co-payer. it still blows my mind that europe offers free (or nearly) healthcare to its citizens without having to be insured. hoorah!

so what i gather from here, it shouldn't matter that i'm "tainted" so to speak and i should get all the care i need with no extra hassels or big bills.
just a few questions --

quote:

originally posted by pinkluna: ...to what will be your local asl's cardiologist you will get a certificate stating your existing disease and a CARTELLINO DI ESENZIONE

first off, i'm not diseased! hehe. i have something similar to a hole in my heart that's been there since birth... but mine's a little different.... but definitely not a disease! but i know what you mean. anyway: i just need to pay a visit to the cardiologist and i'll get a certificate at the time of my check-up? or is this certificate something i need to do on a separate trip before i start the check-ups?

and finally, carole b.--

quote:

originally posted by carole b.:it will only exempt you from those requirements strictly needed for the heart problems! If you have other 'related' problems with for example your kidney's or breathing/lung problems...

so my condition doesn't really cause any "related problems"... otherwise i'm as healthy as a horse. i may, however, need surgery many years down the line to make sure i stay that way... know anything about surgery costs in italy?? does this certificate exempt me from big costs for that??

THANK YOU ALL MY LOVELIES!! you really answered a lot of questions that have been on my mind for a while. i'll get to researching more in depth what exactly i need to do from here.

quote:

Originally posted by piccola katie:
know anything about surgery costs in italy??

health surgery is compleley covered by the Health system to all citizen and legal residents covered by the SSN, regardless of conditions or age, as long as it is performed in public (state owned) or conventioned private structures. Plastic surgery is covered only when needed to repair damages of deformities, not for estetic reasons. If you prefer a private room, you can choose to copay the lodging only in a public (or conventinate) structure.

quote:

Originally posted by piccola katie:
thanks for all your informative responses!

Katie,

Have a look at this file - it is a PDF file and is 26 pages, so you may have to browse for the details that interest you. The advantage is that it is here in English....

http://www.salutepertutti.org/spt_ing.pdf

The title: Salute Per TittiOops Tutti (Health For All) says it all....

Hope this will help you.

Carole B.

Edited to remove excess quotation. A.T.

Alice - what did I saythat you had to edit????

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Carole B.,

Carole, i'm not sure where you learned italian but in my book "titti" means something completely different than "all."

hahaha! totally kidding and just taking advantage of the typo...god i'm immature.


but really, thank you for the link! i'll be sure to look through it when i have time.

quote:

Originally posted by piccola katie:
i just need to pay a visit to the cardiologist and i'll get a certificate at the time of my check-up? or is this certificate something i need to do on a separate trip before i start the check-ups?

No separate trip. The visit to the cardiologist must be a public one in your local (the area where you will be living) ASL (azienda sanitaria locale = local health services).

Hello All
I am a little worried about all the references to health care in Italy as being "free". There are multiple replies where the words "free health care" as used. It is far from free. Someone is paying for it and that is all the hard working taxpayers in the EU. Taxes are extremely high for this "free healthcare" and the system has been on the verge of collapse on numerous occassions.

We have the same mind set in the US. Because we pay very little out of pocket it seems free.

Please take the time both here in the US and abroad and consider all the hard working people (including many of you) that are having money taken from them to fund this national system. Please utilize your healthcare wisely and hopefully this type of system will last into the future...
and remember "nothing in life is free..."