La specialità che c’è, ma non si vede. La sanità nelle Regioni a Statuto speciale

At first sight, the Italian “special” Regions (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sardinia, Sicily, Trentino-Alto Adige, and Valle d’Aosta) and the two autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano, do not seem to enjoy any special form of autonomy in the field of health law. In the subject matter “health protection”, they enjoy the same legislative power as ordinary Regions. Unlike ordinary Regions, however, most special Regions finance their health systems with resources from their own budget. This indirectly limits the State power to direct and constraint their health law legislation, expanding de facto their legislative autonomy. This paper discusses grounds and limits of this broader legislative power in the light of the jurisprudence of the Italian Constitutional Court, as well as the main health law legislation passed by the special Regions.