Italy's Health Spending Goal to Match EU Average Announced by PD Leader

At a national Democratic Party event in Florence, party secretary Elly Schlein said that if the PD wins the upcoming elections, the first priority will be to raise Italy’s health‑care expenditure to the European Union average. She criticized the current government for lowering health spending as a share of GDP and for introducing top‑down reforms that have left long waiting lists for procedures such as gastroscopies and mammograms. Schlein emphasized the need to improve the “community houses” model, integrate health, social and third‑sector professionals, and hire more doctors and nurses, noting that the PNRR has financed many of these facilities but staffing remains insufficient.

She argued that the territorial health system should bring care closer to citizens, especially in underserved mountain and rural areas, and warned that without systemic reforms the right to health will remain uneven.

"If we win the next elections, the first goal must be to bring health spending to the European average," Schlein said.