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Comment by vegardx | Hacker News Reader

Life saving treatment is usually like this all over the world, and in Denmark they will give you a bill unless you're apart of EU, as you'd have the EU health insurance (EHIC), which is free. This card is also valid in countries in the Schengen Area, like Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein.

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Many countries bill for emergency stays. US emergency rooms definitely send bills, even if it's acute live-saving treatment. Even Canada, which has national healthcare for residents, will bill nonresidents who visit an ER. If you're from another country, you may get away with just not paying one of those bills, because if it's life-saving care they have to provide it before verifying you can pay. But they'll still try to collect on it. That's one reason it's common for people to buy travel health insurance that covers emergency care.

Afaik, Denmark doesn't require the EHIC for acute emergency care. Anyone is eligible for unbilled emergency care, with some exceptions to combat medical tourism (if you're found to have traveled to Denmark for the specific purpose of entering an ER to treat a health condition). The EHIC qualifies you for some additional care, e.g. childbirth. This is actually a big current sore point in Danish politics, because many other EU countries don't extend a reciprocal courtesy.

> Even Canada, which has national healthcare for residents, will bill nonresidents who visit an ER.

Even Canada? Canada by its location would be at acute risk for medical tourism from the US, if it didn't bill for ER treatment. That problem isn't as big for Europe, Australia, etc.

That makes sense, I agree. The "even" was more given its reputation: most Europeans I know are not surprised that the US sends large bills for ER visits, but don't expect the same from Canada.

I could almost imagine a financially manageable system where Canada gave free ER care to anyone except Americans, but that would produce obvious political problems.

You're still stuck with a bill, if you're a foreigner. They will treat you, like they will in most of the world. But you're still stuck with a bill afterwards.

Also, unless my memory is totally off, each country has to pay up for EHIC, depending on who used what, and visa versa. So the cost should be evened out.

Edit, because I cannot reply to you later down: I think we have a different view on what emergency medical care is. In most of the world you will get fixed up so that you are no longer in life threatening condition, this is the case in USA, Denmark and Norway. But afterwards you will have to pay, even in Denmark, as long as you're not apart of EU and have the European Health Insurance Card or a citizen of any of the Nordic countries, which has a special agreement.

That isn't the case; Denmark simply does not charge for acute emergency visits, and does not send a bill. In addition, they pay for their own residents who incur such bills within the EU on trips under 30 days [1], which is part of the controversy: a French person who ends up in a Danish ER is not billed, but a Danish person who ends up in a French ER is billed, with the bill paid by the Danish government. Most Danes would prefer that each country provide free emergency care to all, like they do with fire and police.

[1] http://www.sos.dk/en/Corporate/OurNetwork/ForMedicalFaciliti...

You're still stuck with a bill, if you're a foreigner.

In the UK you are not, purely because they don't do the accounting that way in the first place as it would cost a lot of extra money to keep track of billing when no-one is being individually billed, so there is no bill to bill.

Right. I'm currently on a work-holiday visa in Canada (BC). I went to an ER and had to pay ~$825 upfront, before seeing a doctor.

My travel insurance reimbursed everything but you'd better have money on your credit card...

Before getting my work holiday visa, I had to prove that I had medical insurance covering me during my stay in Canada.

[edit: I'm from Belgium]

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