A prominent Italian doctor has spoken to President Donald Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in social media posts he praised the medical care that injured American skier Lindsey Vonn received in Italy after a crash during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina.
Matteo Bassetti — the head of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at Policlinico San Martino University Hospital in Genoa and a former Yale University School of Medicine scientist — began his post on Instagram by sending Vonn his “best wishes for a speedy recovery” upon her return to the United States.
But then he added a pointed dig with Trump and Kennedy, and the general health care situation in the US:
“Vonn appreciated Italy’s extraordinary public health care system, which cared for her through three surgical procedures. In Italy, unlike her country, we take care of everyone: rich or poor, VIPs or nobodies, Americans or Italians. Given the chance, she must explain to Trump and Kennedy Jr. what it means to care for people who are sick.”
Bassetti shared the post with his 396,000 followers, alongside a photo of Vonn being treated at a hospital in Italy.
In a later postIn response to criticism, Bassetti clarified that he “did not write that in America they only treat those who have money,” but instead “wrote (and that is completely different) that in Italy we treat everyone, unlike in the US, thanks to our extraordinary national healthcare system.”
“Even if you have nothing and you don’t have any insurance, you will be treated not only in case of emergency, but also for elective procedures,” he continued. “I have worked in the US and I know very well, because I have seen it firsthand, that certain surgical procedures and certain therapies (including those for HIV and cancer) are not performed or provided if you are not insured.”
Bassetti has criticism of American health care on several previous occasions.
Earlier this week, he said that “thanks to the #antivax thinking of those who rule the country,” the United States has become a “measles country.”
“If we were an advanced country (from a health perspective), we would require Americans to be vaccinated before entering Italy,” he added.
The doctor too exclaimed Joe Biden in 2024 when the then-president boarded Air Force One without a mask, despite having just tested positive for COVID-19.
