Italy to expand care for eating disorders after protests

In an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper, Schillaci stated his intention to revamp the Essential Levels of Care (Livelli Essenziali di Assistenza)—the list of services and benefits that the National Health Service is required to provide to all citizens—to include psychotherapy, family therapy, electrocardiograms, and bone density scans for patients with eating disorders. The protests formed in response to the fears of patients, associations of patients’ families, and professionals that centres for treatment of eating disorders were at risk of shutting down following the quiet removal of a €25 million national fund for eating disorders in the 2024 Budget Law. According to Mendolicchio, the inclusion of new services in the Essential Levels of Care is meaningless when centres are either full or not enough centres are available where appropriate diagnoses can be made earlier.