British expats in Italy even more concerned after UK government advice

British government advice to expats in Italy as regards checking healthcare access is causing even more stress.

An official notice sent out last Monday to all British expats living in Italy is causing yet more stress as regards entitlement to Italian healthcare. The press release, entitled ‘Get ready for Brexit’, instructs Britons living in Italy as to four so-called priority steps which must be taken by 31st October, still considered as the day the UK will leave the EU. The steps start with registering for residency with the local authority and continue with the somewhat vague instruction to ‘check your access to healthcare’, continuing with ensuring you have a valid passport and exchanging British driving licenses to the Italian version.

The major cause for concern amongst Britons in Italy is the vague instruction to check access to healthcare, with Facebook posts fearing the phrase may mean they are about to lose their access to vital healthcare services overnight. According to the UK website, should a no-deal Brexit be the final result, British expats’ access to the Italian healthcare system might well end. The website also states expats need to confirm their residency statuses and ‘decide how to ensure access to medical care’. The site adds that those legally resident in Italy who pay into the public healthcare system will only be covered after a no-deal exit if Italian expats in the UK are able to freely use the NHS system.

Even more confusing are the Italian government’s no-deal laws which also state a commitment to continue expat healthcare provision as well as social security coordination until the end of December next year. The sting in the tail for British expats is the requirement for a formal agreement between the Italian and British governments, the which hasn’t even been started, let alone agreed, leaving no-one to provide answers to British expats’ dilemmas over public provision versus private healthcare insurance. As in all countries popular with expat retirees, private medical insurance is a high-cost burden unaffordable on the British state pension and barely affordable on the average private pension, even although Brits with disabilities have been promised at least six months’ cover after a no-deal crash.