Poveri di reddito, poveri di salute : la povertà sanitaria nelle Nove Italie

The paper aims to analyze the condition of poor people living in Italy (Italian and foreign citizens) who must pay therapies not supported by National Health Service. This situation gives origin to a lack of necessary health supports which increases the risk of becoming more and more vulnerable to sickness. In this way, many people are facing with a real health poverty in addition to income poverty. The diffusion of this phenomenon is estimated in nine territorial areas that may be called "Nine Italies" through the elaboration of statistical microdata provided by the threshold expenditure survey. The dramatic effects of health poverty are partially contrasted by thousands of no profit organizations which take care of poor people, thanks to voluntary work of many health professionals, and distribute free of charge medicines collected by Banco Farmaceutico Foundation. [Publisher's text].