December 14, 2024
American Living in Italy Is Grateful for Their Healthcare

I moved to Italy from the United States in 2019. Italy’s “citizenship-by-descent” laws — which allow those of Italian descent to claim citizenship with proper documentation — meant it was easy to establish myself there.

Four years later, my first child was born. I was already grateful my family was covered under Italy’s universal-healthcare system: Prenatal care, delivery, and hospital stay were cost-free.

If I’d remained in the United States, we would have faced the second-highest costs in the world for giving birth. Not being saddled with high medical bills from birth was critically important for the decisions that lay ahead.

In the weeks following her birth, my daughter was diagnosed with congenital bilateral-sensorineural hearing loss. In plain English, she has profound hearing loss in both ears.

To say this was a shock would be putting it mildly. Neither I nor my wife have a history of hearing loss in our families, but our experience is not unique: Over 90% of babies born with hearing loss are born to hearing parents.

Parents of children born with hearing loss often have little to no understanding of what care the child needs because they come from hearing families. The feeling is similar to being lost at sea — I’m grateful the Italian national-healthcare system didn’t let me drown.

Cost does not factor into my thought process

It’s difficult to admit, but I believe that if I were living in the United States, one of the first questions to cross my mind would have been: “How will I be able to afford this?”

This is with good reason: Medical bills are one of the top causes of bankruptcy in the United States.

Cost doesn’t dictate medical decisions in Italy. The country’s universal-healthcare system covers virtually all costs aside from a few small copays.

Instead of worrying about costs, I was able to focus on questions such as: Would my daughter need surgery? Would she need to learn sign language? Would she learn to talk?

Not stressing over costs allowed me to efficiently get answers to all these questions and make informed decisions about her care.

I focus on caring for my daughter

I’m grateful that Italy’s universal-healthcare system allows me to focus all my energy on my daughter’s well-being.

While Italy is known for its bureaucracy, I have not experienced any delays in care. My daughter receives treatment from audiologists at one of Italy’s top hospitals in the Veneto region, even though we live in the Emilia-Romagna region. There were no bureaucratic hurdles to obtaining care outside our home region.

I was also able to choose the provider for my daughter’s hearing aids. The hearing aids were fitted within the first three months of her life — critical for her speech development.

Hearing aids need resizing frequently as children grow. Our hearing-aid provider’s office is practically a second home. I have never fought for authorization to resize the hearing aids or for any care related to her hearing aids.

I am grateful to the professionals working in Italy’s healthcare system

My daughter has an entire dedicated care team. This team includes an otolaryngologist, a neuropsychiatrist, a speech therapist, a physical therapist, and an audiologist. Though my wife and I were initially unsure what care our daughter would need, we had no need to fear; professionals have guided us through every step of the process.

My daughter is learning to speak with the help of hearing aids and speech therapy. She is already saying “la luna,” Italian for “the moon;” “la stella,” Italian for “the star;” and “flower,” which she seems to prefer to the Italian “il fiore.”

Above all, I am grateful to the Italian national-healthcare system because I can sit with my daughter under the night sky and hear her practice these same words.


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