Healthcare in Rome for Americans: SSN and private

Good news first: no surprise bills the size of a car payment. Italy's public system covers legal residents, and Rome has private hospitals for when you want speed or English.

The short version

Italy's national health service, the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN), covers legal residents. Many Americans are enrolled automatically through work; others enroll voluntarily for a yearly fee.
Once enrolled, you pick a family doctor (medico di base), get a tessera sanitaria card and pay small co-pays (the "ticket") for specialist visits, tests and some prescriptions.
Rome has well-known private hospitals, including UPMC Salvator Mundi International Hospital and Rome American Hospital. Private care is fast but you or your insurer pay.
For emergencies, call 112 (the single European emergency number) or 118 (ambulance). For non-urgent medical advice and the after-hours doctor, call 116117, active across Lazio since August 2026 [1].
Medicare doesn't pay for care in Italy. Plan your coverage before you land.

How the SSN works for foreign residents

The SSN is run region by region. In Rome, that means the Lazio region and its local health authorities (ASL). Who gets in, and how:

Your situation	How you're covered
Employed in Italy, or self-employed and registered	Mandatory SSN enrollment, generally free at the point of use beyond the co-pays
Family members joining a resident	Usually enrolled with the family member
Elective residence (retirees), students and others without Italian work	Voluntary enrollment (iscrizione volontaria) for an annual contribution, or private insurance
Visitors and new arrivals before enrollment	Private travel or international health insurance

The voluntary contribution has a legal minimum that Italy raised in 2024, and it works on a calendar-year basis, so check the current figure with your ASL before you budget. Our step-by-step guide to registering with Italy's national health service walks through the ASL appointment, the documents and choosing your doctor.

What enrollment gets you

A medico di base. Your family doctor is free to see, writes prescriptions and gives referrals (the impegnativa) for specialists and tests. Many Rome GPs work short office hours and don't take appointments the American way. Some you just show up and wait.
A pediatrician (pediatra di libera scelta) for kids, assigned the same way.
Specialists and tests through the regional booking center (CUP), with a co-pay ticket for each. Waits for non-urgent tests can stretch to months. That's the trade-off many Romans fix by going private for one appointment.
Hospital care in public hospitals, with no bill for admissions.

The ticket is the Italian version of a copay [2]. Exemptions exist for some chronic conditions, low incomes and ages, and your ASL assesses them.

Private hospitals and English-speaking care

Rome has a large private sector, and many Americans use it alongside the SSN, either paying out of pocket or through international insurance. We verified these two:

UPMC Salvator Mundi International Hospital, Viale delle Mura Gianicolensi 67, on the Gianicolo above Trastevere. It lists more than 20 specialties, an urgent care service and an international patient services office. Most care is private or through major insurers, and the hospital says some services are also affiliated with the SSN [3].
Rome American Hospital, Via Emilio Longoni, in the eastern Prenestino–Tor Sapienza area. It's a private multispecialty clinic (casa di cura) [4]. Despite the name, it's an Italian private hospital, not a US-run one.

The Australian Embassy in Rome also lists private clinics including Clinica Mater Dei, Clinica Paideia, Clinica Villa Flaminia, Clinica Villa Margherita and Casa di Cura European Hospital, but its page dates back to 2005, so confirm addresses and services before relying on it [5].

A few things that differ from back home:

Call ahead about the ER. Not every private clinic runs a full emergency room. In a real emergency, the ambulance takes you to the nearest suitable public pronto soccorso.
Ask about billing. Private hospitals may want a deposit or a card on file. If you have international insurance, ask whether the hospital bills the insurer directly.
English is common but not guaranteed. Ask for an English-speaking doctor when you book.

Pharmacies: the green cross

Italian pharmacies (farmacie) do more than American drugstores and less than Walgreens. Look for the green cross.

Many over-the-counter medicines are sold only in pharmacies, behind the counter, including basic painkillers. Some supermarkets and parafarmacie (pharmacy-style shops without prescription drugs) sell a limited range.
Pharmacists give advice. For a cold, a rash or a stomach bug, they're a good first stop.
Prescriptions from your medico di base come as an electronic prescription linked to your tessera sanitaria. Brand names differ from the US, so bring the generic (active ingredient) name of anything you take.
After hours: pharmacies take turns staying open at night and on Sundays (farmacie di turno). Each pharmacy posts the current list on its door.
Bringing US meds: bring a supply in original packaging plus a copy of the prescription, and plan to switch to an Italian prescription once you have a doctor.

Emergencies: 112, 118 and 116117

Number	Use it for
112	Any emergency: police, fire, ambulance. Operators route the call.
118	Medical emergencies and ambulances
116117	Non-urgent medical advice, the after-hours doctor, help with the SSN

The 116117 line became active across all of Lazio on August 24, 2026 [1]. It's free, multilingual and open 24/7, staffed by the regional emergency service Ares 118. It gives health advice, connects you to the after-hours doctor (continuità assistenziale, the old guardia medica) when that service is running, and answers questions about the tessera sanitaria, prescriptions and choosing a doctor [1]. It doesn't replace 112 and 118: if a call turns out to be an emergency, it's transferred to 118 [1].

At a public pronto soccorso, you're triaged by color code on arrival [2]. Serious cases go first. If your visit turns out to be non-urgent (white code), expect a long wait and a fee [2], so 116117 or your own doctor is the better call for minor problems.

For kids, Rome's Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù is the city's best-known children's hospital.

The American angle

Medicare doesn't cover you in Italy. If you're 65 or older, think hard before dropping Part B, because late-enrollment penalties can bite if you move back. Our Medicare guide covers the trade-offs.
US insurance rarely works here. Most US plans cover only emergencies abroad, if that. Expat plans or Italian private policies fill the gap until SSN enrollment kicks in, and many visas require private coverage anyway.
Enroll in STEP. The State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program lets the US Embassy in Rome reach you in an emergency. When we checked on November 6, 2026, the State Department rated Italy Level 2 (Exercise Increased Caution), in the advisory updated Sep 10, 2026, citing terrorism [6].
Ask around. Finding a GP who speaks English and has room on their list is the hardest part. Members of our community group for Americans in Italy swap names all the time.

Healthcare in Rome: how Americans use the SSN, private hospitals and the pharmacy on the corner