[How much of the GDP should be allocated to health care?]

Health protection in Italy was allotted 8.9% of the gross domestic product in 2005. This is below the mean of the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development (OCSE), which averaged 9.5%, as well as below that of France (11.1%), Germany (10.7%) and the United States (15.3%). Public health expenditure was 76% and private health expenditure 24%, whereas for OCSE these percentages averaged 80% and 20%, respectively. When the data are subdivided by area (Northern, Central and Southern Italy), the expenditure was 56.24% in Northern Italy, 56.39% in Central Italy, and 52.05% in Southern Italy. The National Council for Economy and Work (CNEL) has determined that the health expenditure in Italy must be increased to OCSE levels. In addition, structural changes are needed to simplify the administrative process.