Health Insurance and Subscription to the Italian Healthcare Services
You can decide to apply to the Italian National Healthcare Service (“Servizio Sanitario Nazionale - SSN”) or you can choose a private health insurance provider.
If you decide to go for the private insurance option, you also have the option to find an insurance company in your country before coming to Italy. Otherwise, you can consult the following website: https://www.waitaly.net/
The School strongly suggests to subscribe to the Italian National Health Service because:
- You can choose a General Pratictioner (Medico di Medicina Generale) e/o Pediatrician (Pediatra) who will be available for any health problem.
- You can book for a specialist treatment at a very low price;
- You can call the Emergency Medical Service (Guardia Medica) at any time during the week-end and after your General Pratictioner duty time.
The subscription to the NHS costs €700,00 and must be paid with the F24 form at any Poste Italiane post office, bank, tobacco shop, as well as online. The Campus Management and Front Office of the IMT School will provide you with the necessary F24 form.
The Campus Management and Front Office of the IMT School will assist you with this process by sending all the necessary documents to the local National Healthcare Service.
To apply for the NHS you need the following documents:
- Receipt of the F24 payment form;
- 2 application forms provided by the School’s Campus Management and Front Office;
- A valid Passport;
- An Italian Tax ID Code (“Codice Fiscale”);
- Stay Permit or receipts of your application.
You will be covered for a period of 12 months, meaning that if you apply in November, the service will expire on December 31 of the same year.
The National Healthcare Service will provide you with a temporary card by email and send you the original one by post at the School’s address (Piazza San Francesco, 19 - 55100, Lucca).
When you register with the Italian National Healthcare Service, you will be asked to choose a General Practitioner or a Family Doctor (“Medico di Medicina Generale”). On the NHS site, you can find a list of available doctors in Lucca. The School’s Campus Management and Front Office can assist you with this delicate choice, after which you will receive all the contact information of the chosen Family Doctor.
You can go to a private medical practitioner or rely on specialistic medical assistance provided by the NHS.
- You should first go to your General Practitioner, who will write a prescription;
- You should then make an appointment with the specialist doctor by contacting the CUP (“Centro Unico Prenotazioni”) NHS booking service or by visiting your local pharmacy;
- You will pay a "ticket" for the visit, i.e. a subsidised medical fee (please remember to take your Health Card with you).
For stays of less than 3 months, EU citizens can benefit from health care in Italy thanks to the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC/TEAM) issued by the healthcare institution of their country of origin. The EHIC/TEAM allows direct access to the National Healthcare Service for “urgent and/or necessary care” (e.g. free visits to all general practitioners, access to hospitals or affiliated healthcare centres for specialist examinations, laboratory tests, instrumental diagnostics by paying the co-pay fee).
For stays of more than 3 months, EU citizens must have private health insurance or register with the National Healthcare Service by requesting the issue of the S1 Form from the healthcare institution in their country of origian, which entitles them to health care on par with resident Italian citizens. With the S1 Form, the EU citizen must then go to the CUP office located in the Cittadella della Salute - Campo di Marte to request free registration with the NHS.
The Emergency Medical Service (“Guardia Medica”) is the doctor that substitutes your General Practitioner every night from 8 PM to 8 AM, on weekends from 10 AM to 8 PM and whenever she/he is off duty.
In case of an emergency, you should call 0584 616779. A doctor may come to your address to visit you.
Home visits are free (please remember to have your Health Card with you). Otherwise, you could go directly to her/his office in Cittadella della Salute "Campo di Marte", Building C, ground floor.
To get in touch with the local Emergency Room (“Pronto Soccorso”), you must dial 112. They can send an ambulance to your address or help you with other types of medical emergencies.
You can also download the Where Are U App (available for iOS, Android and Windows).
Through the App, it is possible to make an emergency call by automatically forwarding data on the localisation of the person making the call to the “Centrali Uniche di Risposta” (Public Safety Answer Points) operator, based on GPS positioning.