It is scary to read about health care in the US. The fact that you would have been down $40.000 if you made $5.000 that year probably ruins people's lives. Those $40.000 can quickly be multiplied if you have other issues.
I broke my tailbone in the US with extended travel insurance. However, I did not dare to even set foot in a US hospital and rather took the 11-hour car ride back to Toronto, where I was living at the time... You never know if a $200.000 bill is in your mailbox when you get home.
In Norway, where I am born and raised, medical is "Free". Free as in made possible with taxes. I am so glad I can just walk in with an injury or another issue without worrying if the rest of my life is ruined.
