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Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro"
Tessera sanitaria
How do I get my tessera sanitaria?
First, you need
What it is
Registration with Italy's national health service, the "Servizio Sanitario Nazionale" (SSN). It issues you a health card, the "tessera sanitaria", which covers hospital care, prescriptions and a family doctor, the "medico di base".
Why you need it
Without it, hospital visits, prescriptions and seeing a doctor are billed at full private cost. With it, most care is free or low cost for as long as your permit is valid.
When
Once you have your codice fiscale and your residence permit, or its ricevuta if the card has not arrived yet. Your cover starts when you register at the "ASL" (the local health authority), not when you pay, and it is not backdated, so register as soon as you have paid.
What you need first
- Your codice fiscale
- Your permesso di soggiorno, or its ricevuta if the card has not arrived yet
- Proof of where you live (a rental contract, or scholarship proof if you are in a residence)
- Your university enrolment certificate
- Passport
Ask a student
Ask how long they waited between paying and being registered at the ASL, and between registering and the card arriving, since both vary by city and by season.