The Italian Chamber of Deputies’ Social Affairs Committee will hold hearings Tuesday, March 24, 2026, with representatives from the Emilia-Romagna regional government, patient advocacy groups, nursing organizations, and labor unions to discuss legislation concerning caregiver support, according to a committee announcement.
The hearings will address a series of bills – C. 114 Panizzut, C. 159 Serracchiani, C. 307 Conte, C. 344 Candiani, C. 443 Faraone, C. 998 Ciani, C. 1426 Malavasi, C. 1461 Tenerini, C. 1507 Stefani, C. 1682 Giorgianni, C. 1690 Ciocchetti, C. 2007 Zanella, and C. 2789 Government – all focused on recognizing and supporting the work of family caregivers.
Isabella Conti, the assessor for Welfare, Third Sector, and Childhood Policies for the Emilia-Romagna region, and Alessandra Servidori, a professor of labor and welfare policies, are scheduled to present at 2:00 PM local time. Following them, at 2:20 PM, representatives from the National Association of Families and People with Intellectual Disabilities and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ANFFAS) and the Permanent Disability Observatory (OSPERDI) will speak.
The afternoon will continue with presentations from the National Coordination of Families with Disabilities (CONFAD) and the National Coordination of United Family Caregivers (CFU) at 2:40 PM. Cittadinanzattiva and the Fondazione Promozione Sociale are slated to present at 3:00 PM. The National Federation of Nursing Orders (FNOPI) will follow at 3:20 PM.
Maurizio Borgo, president of the National Guarantor Authority for the Rights of People with Disabilities, is scheduled to speak at 3:30 PM. The afternoon’s hearings will conclude with presentations from the National Association of Domestic Employers (Assindatcolf), the General Confederation of Autonomous Workers’ Unions (Confsal), CGIL, CISL, UIL, and UGL, beginning at 3:45 PM.
The hearings come amid growing scrutiny of pressures within the Italian healthcare system. A 2025 report commissioned by the Chamber of Deputies examined the restructuring of healthcare professions, and research by Maria Giovanna Vicarelli, a professor of economic sociology at the Polytechnic University of the Marche, has focused on the challenges facing the Italian National Health Service (SSN). Vicarelli’s work, published in “Politiche Sociali, Social Policies” in 2023, examined the state of universal healthcare 45 years after the SSN’s founding.
Vicarelli also directs the CRISS Interdepartmental Center at the Polytechnic University of the Marche, and previously served as a professor of economic sociology at the Giorgio Fuà Faculty of Economics.
