However, under a socialized healthcare system it's completely unlikely they would pay anything at all. That distinction probably saves lives on stress-relief alone.
^ This is the main point. I've heard people in the US say stuff like 'I'm one trip to the hospital away from bankruptcy', and I honestly couldn't bear living with that thought always in the back of my mind.
What if you fell ill and didn't want to become a burden for your family? Do you off yourself? Do you become the next Walter White? This is absurd.
Haven't done much research into that, so perhaps someone else did already - where was this tech invented and where this tech was implemented for the first time?