Pandemic: Emilia-Romagna region backtracks and denies compensation to private clinics: over €80 million to be repaid

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, they reached an agreement with the Emilia-Romagna Region to remain open and fully operational, without resorting to social safety nets for medical and nursing staff. This was on March 20, 2020. That agreement was followed by two resolutions. One that same year and a second, on November 11, 2024, to calculate the compensation and benefits that had been advanced in the meantime. This compensation, amounting to over €80 million, could now be forced on private clinics: the Region has announced it will revoke that same provision as a matter of self-regulation. "They essentially officially informed us that they don't want to pay us anything for the pandemic period and that they intend to proceed with the reimbursement request for the sums previously paid, including in the form of free healthcare services to citizens," says Cesare Salvi , regional president of Aiop, the private healthcare association that over 40 accredited clinics in Emilia-Romagna, with a total of 8,800 employees, belong to. It was a real shock.

"We will oppose this with all our strength and in all the competent bodies, starting with the Regional Administrative Court," Salvi continues, emphasizing how unexpected the decision was. "If we don't trust a council resolution, what can we trust?" he asks, noting that "in Piedmont and Lombardy, all procedures relating to compensation for the health emergency have been closed for some time." It was then-Regional President Stefano Bonaccini , as the country was spiraling into emergency, who reached an agreement with private healthcare providers. The agreement, resulting in Resolution 344, stipulated that accredited facilities would remain open and fully operational, without resorting to redundancy payments for staff. To ensure the private sector's willingness to intervene even where the public healthcare system was unable to, such as surgical interventions on cancer patients, an advance payment equal to 80% of the difference between the actual billings for the months of 2020 affected by the pandemic and the average monthly billings for 2019 was established. In essence, AIOP claims, this is "mere coverage of the operating costs of accredited private clinics."

The Region, through its Health Councilor Massimo Fabi and Director General Lorenzo Broccoli , respectively, communicated its decision to the association during a meeting held on Monday. During the meeting, the Region also announced its intention to cap the mobility of patients from other areas of the country. This limit would result in losses not only for public healthcare but also for private healthcare (an estimated €45 million per year less for accredited facilities alone). According to AIOP, the sum of these two measures would have a significant negative impact not only on services for citizens but also on the healthcare system as a whole. Hence Salvi's request, which includes a meeting with Regional President Michele De Pascale .