In 2026 the national health fund will rise to almost 143 billion euros. The new increase was foreseen in the Budget Law and is equal to 2.4 billion euros. According to the government, the move aims to strengthen healthcare personnel and increase the salaries of doctors and nurses. From the numbers, however, a much more complex picture emerges, in which actual hiring is lower than the initial promises and the unions speak of an unrealizable plan.
Going back to a few months ago, the forecasts spoke of new hires for a quota of 25-30,000 entries in three years, but the numbers have now been reduced to 6,300 nurses and around 1,000 doctors, for a total of just over 7,000 new healthcare workers to be hired with 450 million euros. A figure which, according to the social partners, is not enough to fill a structural and wage gap that has lasted for decades.
More funds, but fewer hires
With the 2026 budget, the government allocates 2.4 billion euros for 2026 and 2.65 billion for 2027 and 2028 for healthcare. The objective is to strengthen the workforce and increase salaries. The Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci was the spokesperson, underlining how nurses are at the center of this maneuver and that, thanks to the regions having their accounts in order, up to 20,000 new entries could be reached in addition to the natural turnover.
The unions, however, are holding back. Starting from the Fnopi Federation: in public hospitals alone there is already a shortage of 70,000 nurses and every year resignations and abandonments from the public service are increasing.
The national secretary of Coina, Marco Ceccarelli, asks the government “where are these 6,000 nurses to be hired in a year’s time”. The problem is that the profession is paying one of the highest prices among jobs in Italy, in terms of stress, precariousness and inadequate salaries.
Stagnant salaries and declining purchasing power
In addition to the hiring issue, one of the problems why nurses and doctors cannot be found is the economic front. On the salary side, in fact, there is still a lot to do. The maneuver provides 280 million euros to enhance the specific allowance of doctors and nurses. In 2026, doctors will receive around 3,000 euros gross more per year, while nurses will have an increase of 1,630 euros gross per year (around 125 euros per month).
According to Antonio De Palma, president of the Nursing Up union, the numbers are not convincing. He explains that if the 195 million allocated are divided among 285,000 nurses, the real increase is just 57 euros gross per month, less than 40 net. He adds that there is a risk of passing off as “new” what was already foreseen by past increases.
From Coina instead comes the controversy over settling for partial increases or allowances that leave intact a gap defined as unbearable. “In Germany or France a nurse earns double. In Italy we remain on the margins: precarious, underpaid and forced to work grueling shifts”, he explains.
According to a study by Nursind, in fact, from 1990 to today a nurse has lost around 2,500 euros in purchasing power, a figure that exceeds 8,500 euros for those with over 40 years of service.
The crisis in the wards: the reality of healthcare
The criticisms coming from the trade voices agree on a specific point: there are not enough resources. These risk not being enough to cover the real needs and therefore stop the hemorrhage of personnel. Over the last ten years, over 5,000 Italian nurses have left the country, attracted by higher salaries and better working conditions abroad.
The crisis of the national health system is not only a question of the budget, but also of the maintenance of the public service. Hospitals without staff, emergency rooms in difficulty and patients forced to give up treatment are the symptoms of a collapse of the system that continues to be ignored. In fact, Ceccarelli declares that the crisis is not abstract and that it is felt “in the wards, in the emergency rooms, in the unmanned departments”.
