Florence, 5 September 2024 – Rome’s refusal to further allocation has put the Tuscany with their backs to the wall. I 32 million of the national health fund to be allocated to thereduction of waiting lists they are all already busy, Tuscany had come forward knocking on the Ministry of Health for a reinforcement but the answer was negative. The government, which also made the decree for the reduction of waiting lists, has not put resources into it. Reason for which the Regions are forced to roll up their sleeves, before remaining in their shirts. Aware that the issue of waiting lists is a big problem to be tackled head on, the Tuscan governor Eugenio Giani has instructed the offices to study a package of measures – partly already in place – that will allow for the collection of additional resources to allow for the implementation of an extraordinary action package.
The chapter of the health care spending It is a long-standing issue and, it is now recognized, with the demand for health constantly increasing it is impossible to reach a balanced budget with the money that comes from Rome, which is why Tuscany is fighting with Emilia Romagna, with a mobilization and collection of signatures, to bring the State transfers to the Regions to 7.5% of GDP (a percentage currently destined to drop to 6% in 2025) and to overcome the constraints on personnel spending that do not allow hiring or, better, that force them to be done with an eyedropper.
The match of the reform of local health care for the Region it is a Champions League final to win: the stability of the public health system will depend a lot on the final result of the operation to reorganize proximity medicine, including home care, of fundamental importance for the elderly and chronically ill, new community homes that can treat mild cases, the start of 116117 in a few days. In the package that the governor has in mind, the first measure is already being tested in the field: making non-EU citizens (such as American tourists) pay for services, from the calculations that the offices have made, should bring between 15 and 18 million into the regional coffers.
So, where to find more money? In November, a regional budget deviation will be made to allow additional resources to be given to university health and hospital companies that will be used to pay for the additional activity of health personnel to reduce waiting lists. Now the companies have their hands tied. A study carried out with the Cup showed that specialist visits are scheduled every half hour. Another hypothesis under study, which has already failed in the past, is to be able to fit three visits into an hour, but this would only be possible for some specialties. The most complex study is intended for the agreements to discounted rates for those who choose private. A measure to be carefully examined because there is a regional tariff nomenclature that cannot be evaded, even if evaluations are underway with the private sector and, in particular, with the private social sector, the world of associations that offers increasingly important volumes of services, including visits and instrumental tests.