School health insurance policy: 800,000 enrollments, extension until September 30.

Approximately 800,000 school employees have enrolled by September 20th in the free health insurance policy funded by the government with 320 million euros. The potential pool, which also includes temporary workers, is estimated at around 1.2 million employees.

At the request of the signing trade unions, the Ministry of Education and Merit (MIM), led by Giuseppe Valditara, is about to issue a circular that opens a new enrollment window, with a deadline set for September 30th. It remains to be determined when coverage for this new group will begin. This is the largest free health insurance ever provided in public employment.

The measure has created a clear rift among trade union organizations. The Flc Cgil denounces risks of healthcare privatization and diversion of resources from schools, while a front composed of Cisl Scuola, Snals Confsal, Gilda Unams, and Anief rejects the criticism, calling it "instrumental disinformation" and emphasizing that the resources are additional and enrollment is voluntary.

The introduction of free health insurance for school staff was initiated by the Italian government in 2025 through a series of legislative measures. The legal basis is contained in Article 14 of Legislative Decree No. 15 of March 14, 2025, which provided for an initial allocation of 65 million euros per year for four years (2026–2029), totaling 260 million.

Subsequently, with Legislative Decree No. 127 of September 9, 2025, the measure was extended to temporary school staff, identifying an additional 15 million euros per year through savings resulting from the reduction in the number of external commissioners in the new high school graduation exams. The total funding thus rose to 320 million euros for the four-year period 2026–2029.

The Ministry of Education clarified that these resources come from a combination of new budget allocations (250 million) and reallocated ministerial savings (70 million), and that without this reallocation, these funds would have remained unused. The insurance covers services such as surgeries, maternity care, dental treatments, and cancer prevention protocols.