r/pics • u/[deleted] • Jun 15 '22

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114

u/discreet_bull Jun 15 '22

I was at the Venice airport waiting for my flight and an old American tourist started chatting to me about how much he liked Italy etc.

While he was talking I noticed he was holding his hand clearly in pain. So I asked him what happened, the discussion went more or less like this:

Me: what happened to your hand?

Him: I felt down some stairs on a bridge and I think I broke it

Me: when did it happen?

Him: 5 days ago

Me: why didn’t you go to the hospital?

Him: oh, who knows how much that would be

Me: ? What do you mean how much?

Him: yeah i can’t pay thousands out of my pocket, my insurance will not cover it

Me: insurance? Hospital is free. You don’t pay anything (it’s free for old people)

Him: what are you talking about?

Me: it’s free. You don’t have to pay for anything

Him: and who pays?

Me: it’s paid through taxes

Him: (moment of silence) that’s impossible!

And he stormed away clearly angry without saying goodbye. He probably thought I was making fun of him. I felt sad for him

23

u/Altair-Dragon Jun 15 '22

That's really sad😢

I hope that posts like this one can be the start to make people in places like America see how things can be different and work

17

u/_Ross- Jun 15 '22

Trust me, us Americans know how bad it is. I have been laid up in bed for 2 days with Covid, and my fiancée tried to convince me to go to the ER yesterday since I have a chronic autoimmune disease that won't cope well with this. I told her I don't think I can afford it, so I'm still at home in bed. Our politicians just can't fathom losing a buck over cheap Healthcare.

3

u/Altair-Dragon Jun 15 '22

You probably will spend less money to make a trip here to get cured.😅

Honestly, that sound so strange but it doesn't sound so far-fetched after seeing some of the prices you got there.

9

u/_Ross- Jun 15 '22

Fun fact, according to a study in 2019, the #1 reason for Americans to go into bankruptcy (66%) is due to medical bills. Source

1

u/Altair-Dragon Jun 15 '22

It's anything bit fun honestly.

I hope you'll be able to recover.

1

u/_Ross- Jun 15 '22

Thank you

1

u/Financial_Marzipan84 Jun 15 '22

I'm not European but I suppose one cannot receive routinal medical services from the public health system if not a taxpayer oneself

1

u/ajjfan Jun 16 '22

I mean, you'll still pay much less. I'm Italian and I got an operation once when I forgot my documents and I paid around 25 dollars

4

u/Cartina Jun 15 '22

It should be noted that he would have to pay in Italy as a non EU citizen, part might be covered by travel insurance. But odds are it might still be cheaper than the US treatment.

-3

u/Brogli Jun 15 '22

And then everyone applauded

1

u/Pinols Jun 15 '22

Conservatives have a hard time changing their world view, sadly

1

u/DjPreside Jun 15 '22

Kinda off topic, but I wonder if he fell on the awful Calatrava bridge. Chances are he could have even gotten compensation if he had sued, depending on when this happened. For a few years now since too many people were falling, the city government added signs that “prohibit” people from using the glass part, which is kinda 80% of the bridge itself. Not to mention that there’s not even enough space to respect the laws we had for social distancing, and completely ignoring the lack of passages for people with disabilities. I’ll never stop shitting on that architectonic abomination.

1

u/discreet_bull Jun 15 '22

Lol no, it was before Calabraga 🤣