A US friend was in the ER in Berlin and had the hospital staff tell him to his face he was lying when he described the differences in the medical system

I usually get this the other way around, when I try to explain to Americans that treatment on the NHS means you *never even see the bill*. It's inconceivable to them.

I asked a doctor in Denmark how to pay for an ER visit. He was offended at the very idea of paying. "Welcome to *civilized* medicine" he said. The entire ER visit and treatment cost us $5 for some antibiotics at the chemist.

When I moved home from the US to Ireland, at one point my son fell and we went to a good *private* health clinic with no insurance to get his arm checked out. Doctor’s visit, splint, and an X-RAY: less than €200 cash. If this had happened in the US I’d still be paying that bill today.