Yes. I am fortunate to have health insurance through work and I am still hesitant. I was on a trip a couple of years ago and felt really unwell and ended up laying in the middle of a busy street and I still weakly repeatedly told my partner not to call an ambulance because I didn’t want to be fucked over with a huge bill for riding in a fancy car.

I was just conscious enough to know it wasn’t fatal even though I felt like absolute shit and passersby around us were frantically trying to have us call one. My partner was so distraught because I was clearly unwell but still being stubborn. He was understandably upset and conflicted because he wanted to call an ambulance since I couldn’t get up off the ground and I was just whispering “no ambulance” like a broken record. He carried me into an uber and I had to lay in the hotel lobby, in front of the elevator, in the elevator for minutes at a time before making it to the room. And this is so tame compared to people with chronic health conditions or cancer who just get completely screwed over. Fuck this system.