Four in 10 Italians say healthcare is worsening - Censis

(ANSA) - Rome, December 4 - More than four in 10 Italians think healthcare is worsening, a figure that increases to six in 10 in Italy's south, according to a study released Friday by Censis.
    More than half of those surveyed said healthcare is inadequate, with a full 83% of those in the south unhappy with regional healthcare.
    Survey respondents said problems include rising costs and long wait times that often drive patients to pay out-of-pocket at private healthcare providers who offer competitive rates with shorter waits.
    The survey said a private-provider MRI scan costs 142 euros with a five-day wait time, while the cost for the same scan in the public healthcare system is just 63 euros but carries a 74-day wait.
    The average public healthcare wait time is 55 days for a specialist visit and 46 days for tests, and nearly two in 10 patients (22,6% and 19,4%, respectively) were forced to wait for these services due to lack of private care alternatives.
    Meanwhile, half of the families who care for a person in the household who isn't self-sufficient (5.5% of the Italian population, more than 3.1 million), have such limited resources that they have been forced to use up their savings or sell their homes to cover healthcare costs, the survey said.