For visit ed exams specialists arrive a new refund system. From the 21 September 2026 New national tariffs for services provided by accredited facilities on behalf of the National Health Service will come into effect. The measure, approved by the State-Regions Conference on July 23, replaces the November 2024 measure, which was later overturned by the Lazio Regional Administrative Court (TAR) following appeals by accredited private facilities.
What will change will be the recognized amounts to the facilities for 448 outpatient specialist services and for 222 prosthetic care codes, out of a total of 1.063. In total, therefore, more than 600 services are affected by the update, which also concerns various aids for people with disabilities.
Among new The most awaited is the one regarding the first specialist visit, for which the average reimbursement is set at 26 euros, with higher figures in some specialties. The average fee increase is 5,8% and applies to, among other things, tests such as Doppler ultrasound, vascular diagnostics, nuclear medicine, endoscopy, and electromyography. Certain devices are also affected, from spinal orthoses to prosthetic limbs and optical aids.
The point to clarify is that this is not an automatic increase in the price paid by citizens: the new figures concern the reimbursements recognized by the National Health Service to the facilities that provide these services.
How much does the new system weigh?
The tariff update will result in an additional expenditure of 210,7 million euros annually at full capacity. Of this amount, €183,1 million is for specialist services and €27,6 million for prosthetics. The planned commitment for 2026 is approximately €70 million.
The new resources are added to those already foreseen for the previous tariff system. Budget law It also allocated 100 million euros to 2026 and 183 million to 2027 for tariff updates.
However, the new agreement has not satisfied everyone.Uap, which represents outpatient clinics, polyclinics and private hospital institutions, judges the new tariffs still insufficient and warns of the risk of reduced performance and longer waiting times.
Community housing, 235 million coming
The news does not only concern visits and tests. For the Community houses, 235 million euros have been made available to purchase diagnostic equipment for the new facilities intended to strengthen healthcare in the area.
The resources will serve the more than 1.200 facilities currently being activated in Italy and come from a 2022 fund initially created to equip family doctors' and pediatricians' offices with tools for initial diagnostics.
Le Italian Regions They will have 90 days from the decree's entry into force to indicate which equipment is needed in their area. A portion of the funds must continue to be allocated to medical practices in inland areas, small islands, and urban periphery, where access to healthcare services may be more difficult. The goal is to bring the possibility of certain tests closer to home, reducing disparities between regions and increasing access to care.
Then there is the personnel chapter. For the two-year period 2026-2027 is the need for has been defined new professional figures needed by the National Health Service. The data will be used to plan admissions to degree programs for the next academic year. Estimates speak of 20.842 doctors and 25.479 nurses. Additionally, 1.599 dentists, 1.733 veterinarians, 1.500 pharmacists, 2.673 biologists, 469 chemists, and 287 physicists will be needed.
