Initially, Italy had the casse mutue health insurance system. The right to health, established under Article 32 of the Italian Constitution, was not enjoyed by everyone, but only by those workers (and their families) who had signed up with the insurance fund. In addition,there were considerable differences between the several class of workers in terms of benefits and coverage.

Only in 1978, with the institution of the National Health Service based on the universal welfare state model - the Beveridge system, chiefly funded through taxation - did the protection of physical and mental health become a right to be truly enjoyed by all individuals on equal terms.

But does Italian NHS cost more or less than those set up by countries that adopted different models, such as the Bismarck model? And what do the performance indicators tell us?

In 2020, with a public health expenditure of 7.1% of GDP, Italy ranked third - among the European countries of the comparison - in terms of number of hospital beds (3.19 per 1,000 inhabitants), and had the lowest availability of residential care homes for the elderly. Other categories - such as life expectancy at birth (83 years) and healthy life expectancy (71.9 years) - see Italy at the top. Credit for this also goes to lifestyles.