Challenges for the welfare state and the right to health after the pandemic: The Italian case

The COVID-19 pandemic affected an already critical state of the Italian National Healthcare System and of the Welfare State in general. The aim of this work is to describe how the challenge imposed by the pandemic has been faced, and the possible directions that social and health policies could take in the country, also in light of the adoption of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Through the analysis of the deep-rooted contradictions in public policies and of the areas where the intervention is more urgent, the work underlines the structural factors which are leading to a progressive shift in the vision of health, from a perspective centred on the role of the State and the protection of the public interest, to one where the role of the private sector and the idea of individual interest are ever stronger, with a consequent change in the balance between economics, legal and political systems.