Solidarity and the role of the state in Italian health care

The article deals with the issue of solidarity in health care, with particular reference to the Italian context. It presents the difficulties of the Italian NHS and assesses the current proposal to counter the crisis of the Welfare State by giving up institutional arrangements, in order to favour the so-called 'social private'. Moreover, it addresses the question of prioritisation and targeting in the context of health care, arguing for the insufficiency of the standard approach of neutral liberalism, and showing how the concept of solidarity might help to develop a different account. Lastly, it discusses the case of organ transplantion in Italy, as an example of solidarity-inspired health care policy.