Internal coordination of social security in Italy

Abstract

This contribution deals with the internal coordination of health care, long-term social care and social assistance schemes – covered by EU regulation no. 883/2004 – in Italy after the constitutional reform enacted in 2001, which significantly decentralised legislative and administrative machinery by strengthening the prerogatives of the Regions, especially in terms of organisation and funding of the services. This article seeks to demonstrate that, although the decentralisation of health care and long-term social care has been accompanied by mechanisms of internal coordination among the Regions (particularly in the field of inter-regional mobility), regional social assistance schemes providing money transfers lack any form of coordination.