A €300 healthcare card for the over-75s: what it covers and how the new measure in the 2027 Budget works

From over-the-counter medicines and the dentist to the nurse who comes to your home to administer an IV drip, or the co-payments you have to pay for medicines, consultations and tests – for those who are not already exempt – which are booked through the National Health Service. For the 5.5 million over-75s who will be able to get their hands on the new health card promised by the budget bill that has just been approved, this provides a small lifeline worth 300 euros a year and which could ease the burden of ever-increasing out-of-pocket healthcare costs: every year, Italians dig into their pockets to pay for their healthcare, and the figure for so-called out-of-pocket expenditure has now exceeded 41 billion, of which, incidentally, only 21.7 billion has actually been claimed as a tax deduction by taxpayers, as not all healthcare expenditure qualifies for the tax relief due to excesses, insufficient income, errors in tax returns or failure to claim the deduction.

Hence the Government’s decision – following pressure from Forza Italia – to introduce immediate support because “health cannot wait” (the benefits of tax relief are only felt the following year). The measure – devised in particular by Forza Italia’s Economic Department, led by Maurizio Casasco – was initially conceived as a cashback scheme with immediate refunds, but eventually evolved into the idea of a ‘voucher’ worth 300 euros (no longer 400–500 euros as originally envisaged), which will require funding of 1.6 billion.

To make it easier for the target group of beneficiaries – an estimated 5.5 million people aged over 75 with a pension income (not the ISEE) of up to 28,000 euros – a card should be introduced with 300 euros loaded onto it, to be used solely for healthcare expenses. But what will it be possible to buy with this card? Whilst we await the full details of what the Budget Law stipulates, the scope has been reiterated by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni herself, who, at a press conference immediately following the Cabinet meeting, spoke of all those services which today “are not covered by the National Health Service” – that is, those outside the essential levels of care: the list should include, first and foremost, all those over-the-counter medicines bought to treat, for example, the usual seasonal ailments, which place a significant financial burden on people’s pockets. The card can be used to pay the patient contributions for medicines, consultations and tests, which range from a few euros up to a maximum of 36 euros, provided the elderly person is not already exempt, as is already the case for many over-65s. Among the consultations and services not covered are those at the dentist, including the purchase – likely only partial – of prosthetics such as dentures. However, it will also be possible to pay for home care provided by a doctor or nurse, or for prosthetics and orthopaedic aids that are not currently covered by the National Health Service.