The five companies that lead private healthcare in Italy

Some important points in my opinion:

In Italy the first name in private healthcare is Papiniano, the holding company that controls the San Donato Group and the San Raffaele Hospital. Nobody does it better than it: in 2023 it had a turnover of 1,835 million euros, decisively leaving all other operators behind. It is the pinnacle of a system that, put together, is worth much more than many imagine. The 34 largest private groups in the country have in fact reached 12 billion euros in revenues, with a growth of 5.7% compared to 2022 and 15.5% compared to 2019.

In the European comparison on public health spending, Italy ranks in the lowest positions and this helps to understand why private healthcare has taken on an increasingly important role. In 2023, Italian public spending stopped at 6.2% of gross domestic product, far from the 10.1% of Germany and France and even below the 8.9% of the United Kingdom and 7.2% of Spain. Estimates indicate a slight increase to 6.3% in 2024 and 6.4% in 2027, growth too slow to close the gap with the main European countries. In this context, with more limited public financing and a national healthcare system under pressure, the demand for private services tends to increase, offering large groups the opportunity to strengthen their presence in the market.