Waiting lists: knot of resources, bill hypothesised instead of decree

It was supposed to be the perfect 'spot' for the government a few days after the European vote. But now it runs the risk of becoming a boomerang for the majority, starting with the very Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who had first announced the arrival of a plan to cut down on the number one health emergency that convinces 3 million Italians not to seek treatment: waiting lists. The promised and announced (several times also by the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci) decree on waiting lists expected in the Council of Ministers next Tuesday could in fact deflate into a simple bill.

The hypothesis of transforming the decree into a bill has become more and more concrete in the last few hours because the most important knot had not been untied: that of the coverage, which seems to have stopped at around 200-300 million, when much more would be needed. It was Meloni herself who had put her face to it: 'We will put up the money because the issue is important'. But the problem had already emerged from the drafts circulated in recent days - as anticipated by Il Sole 24 Ore -: in the text of the decree not only was the article with the coverage missing, but it was also clear that several measures would have to be financed from the health fund (i.e., the resources allocated to health and already more than counted). Also weighing on this choice is the stop of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella in the face of the shower of decree-laws presented or in the pipeline. Although in the case of waiting lists the urgency would also have been justified.

The transformation into a Ddl will first of all mean longer time in Parliament and the real risk that many measures will be watered down. Among the most important measures under consideration are the passing of the expenditure ceiling on staff recruitment and the possibility of making greater use of accredited private healthcare to guarantee at least 90% of the healthcare services prescribed to citizens on time. But also the increase of the expenditure ceiling to purchase care from private individuals: more than 1.3 billion over three years (246 million more this year, 492 million in 2025, and more than 600 million from 2026). Among the measures for which coverage must be found is also that of a substantial tax rebate on overtime for waiting lists of doctors and nurses.

"There are normal interlocutions in place" with the Mef before promulgating a measure. "It is clear that where there are economic impacts these impacts must be validated, but I repeat that they are in technical, not political interlocutions that will then see validation," said the Undersecretary for Health, Marcello Gemmato. "If there are interlocutions, it is not confirmed" that the measure will arrive on the government's table next week, he then added, without dwelling on the estimated costs: "We do not give out numbers, there is a theme that is that of reducing waiting lists and there are solutions that are being put in place. The tools can be those of the decree that, as you know, have immediate cogency and therefore within 60 days then converted into law, or the fast-track bill' prepared by the government 'which therefore also has a co-participation of Parliament and perhaps a compensation for what are any critical economic but also political'.