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In some countries, healthcare has nothing to do with “insurance”.

People say 'Europe', speak as if their experience is the same across the continent, and anyone with a different experience is somehow not in the Europe they mean. It's very annoying.

European healthcare is run very differently across the continent. 'Insurance' can mean a [state] social insurance institute that the doctor must bill. Some countries would employ the doctor directly as part of a nationalised health system. Some places it might be the municipality or city that would then get some subsidy from central government. Some it is a mix of all of this. 'Free' healthcare might actually mean a few hundred Euros, or literally nothing.

This! We went to a pediatric dentist with my kid on Monday, with a referral from another dentist, both private. After small talk, their first proper question was: "Do you have insurance?". Before I could respond, my wife responded affirmatively. Insurance here in Ireland means private insurance. After an x-ray, we were presented with a menu of treatment options ranging from around €2k to €5k.

Later I requested the clinic to share the x-ray with me and consulted with another pediatric dentist from another EU country. His assessment was completely different, and recommended very minimal intervention.

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