Istalia

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Giunio Government presents its reforms in Healthcare and Education

Increased public-private partnerships for these two pillars of the welfare state but the measures addressed to the Church will certainly generate strong criticism

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May 5649

ROMULA - After the announcement on the welfare reform, the government led by Valeriano Giunio also presented the strategic lines for the reorganization of the National Health Service and for a new governance of the education system, marking a further key step in its project to modernize the public apparatus.

Regarding Healthcare, the government has charted the course for a mixed healthcare model, based on cooperation between the public and private sectors. The planned revision aims to rationalize the offer of public services, while strengthening the possibilities of access and participation of private actors. The objective, according to the Ministry of Health, is to guarantee greater efficiency, reducing waiting times and organizational rigidity, especially in the less served areas.

The new model will include stable agreements with accredited private facilities, the introduction of reward mechanisms for centers of excellence, as well as the possibility for patients to freely choose between public and private facilities without differences in reimbursements. In parallel, measures are announced to promote the development of the supplementary health insurance sector and to encourage the growth of private companies in the sectors of home care, rehabilitation, and services for the elderly and disabled.

Minister of Helth and Welfare, Marco Bellocchio, declared:

It is not about privatizing healthcare, but about building a plural ecosystem, where the State continues to guarantee fundamental rights, but is no longer the only player in the field. Foundations, the social works of the Church, cooperatives, social enterprises can offer value, quality and proximity to the citizen.

The government also assured that the National Health System will continue to be universalistic, but will be subject to performance and results criteria.

With regard to education, the government has announced a profound reform of the school system, with the aim of introducing greater autonomy and diversification of the educational offering.
The reform will allow private schools that offer primary or secondary education to receive public funding for each student, in proportion to the cost sustained by the State for public institutions. Among these, a significant place will be occupied by schools linked to the Aurorian Church, which will benefit from a total tax exemption starting from the next budget law, like other religious or charitable entities involved in the social and welfare sectors.

The conditions for access to public funding will still be strict: private schools with agreements will not be able to discriminate at the entrance, nor will they be able to impose entrance exams or additional contributions on families. They will be allowed to accept private donations, but will have to respect the quality standards imposed by the State.

In parallel, the government is working on a reform of regional and municipal competences in the school sector: the Municipalities will manage school buildings and the right to study for nursery, primary and lower secondary schools; the Regions, through provincial branches, will have competence for upper secondary schools. The State will instead maintain responsibility for general policies, educational standards and national objectives.

We want to guarantee more educational freedom to citizens but without lowering the level: each affiliated school will be subject to stringent controls. We want educational pluralism but within the framework of a strong public system.

The reform provides that funded private schools can also be for-profit, and a significant development of the sector is expected, with institutions that will offer alternative pedagogies, religious, international or special educational needs profiles (such as sensory disabilities), as well as high schools with excellent sports profiles. The government emphasizes that this will allow greater freedom of choice between different educational models, while maintaining quality and inclusiveness for all recognized institutions.

Although the final text of the reforms has not yet been approved, strong criticism is already expected from the opposition, in particular from the parties of the parliamentary left and from the trade unions and secular acronyms, criticisms are expected related to the risk of a progressive dismantling of education and public health, although the government has repeatedly reiterated that the system will remain universalistic. Detractors argue that the opening to the private sector could create unequal treatment, amplifying the gap between urban and peripheral areas, undermining substantial equality between citizens. However, the issue that risks inflaming the political debate the most will undoubtedly be that of the concessions to the Aurorian Church. Critical voices speak of a form of institutional privilege and a return to a "State-Church symbiosis" which, as the progressive front denounces, has already done enough damage in the not too distant past, transforming what for centuries has been a beacon of tolerance into a country with a bigoted and paternalistic legislature.

The government, however, appears determined to move forward and aims to defuse the critical front by reiterating that these upcoming measures are part of a coherent project of structural renewal, based on efficiency, freedom of choice and controlled inclusion.