Hacker News Reader

Not Europeans — while you might have to wait for non-emergency things (depending on the country), emergencies are treated immediately. And I've never heard of anyone from the EU going to the US for medical care, that actually sounds rather amusing :-)

View on HN

> And I've never heard of anyone from the EU going to the US for medical care

It definitely happens, especially for things like plastic and reconstructive surgery.

I don't know how it is in Europe, but those sorts of things are not typically covered by insurance in the US, except in cases where the reconstruction is related to a medical condition or accident (I got a nicer nose after breaking the original in a bicycling accident; the reconstruction was covered by health insurance). I assume those coming from EU to US for treatment would be self-pay for the treatment, yes?

I have no idea how payment would be arranged. It's possible that if a country's national plan covers something but no providers are in-country, they would cover the cost.

Some hospitals in the US are free for everybody (some research hospitals and hospitals for sick kids) and I assume that would extend to Europeans.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com