In Bologna, a publicly funded health center with Arabic and Chinese translators on staff has catered exclusively to immigrant women and their children for the past nine years. The center doesn't even ask to see patients' identify papers. This sense of inclusion and security is more than what many immigrants feel in the United States, especially those who are in the country illegally. Many of the latter say they are afraid to avail themselves of the health care system for fear that information about them will be reported to the police and that they will be deported. In three-quarters of Italy's regions, health officials have set up 138 public health clinics, nearly all in the past five years, especially for immigrants.
Statistics point to a clear impact on Italy's overall health.
In part because of intensive efforts to provide prenatal and postnatal care to all mothers, the country's infant mortality rate has fallen to 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. The U.S. figure is 7.2 deaths. The operation took two hours, plus Deguillaume had to make an earlier run to a local hardware store. There is no cost for any of this to my patient. For chronically unwell patients who face lifelong expenses, the certainties of such a health system bring enormous comfort.