Regionalismo differenziato e materia sanitaria

The article discusses the implementation of the art. 116, paragraph 3 of the Constitution, with particular reference to the healthcare sector. Having recalled the main unsuccessful past attempts to activate the constitutional clause, the Authors retrace the steps of the negotiation that currently involves the Regions of Emilia-Romagna, Lombardia and Veneto, synthetically discussing the different conceptions of “asymmetric regionalism” emerging from this negotiation and from the scientific debate related. Then the article focuses on the contents of pre-agreements and drafts of agreement regarding health protection. The analysis of the available texts shows that in this sector the greatest risk of the current proceeding consists in the possibility that generic and ambiguous provisions of the agreements (in particular concerning supplementary insurance funds, the exercise of the free medical profession in the “intramoenia” regime, the co-pay fees and the rules about services’ remuneration) allow a progressive deconstruction of the National Health Service.