A TikToker has sparked a debate about the U.S. healthcare system after sharing a story of his experience having food poisoning in Morocco.
User Christian (@christian.grossi) posted the now-viral video on May 27. Over the course of the TikTok, he explains the story of how, after recording a video detailing his food poisoning, he collapsed outside of his Airbnb.
When he awoke, there were several Moroccan men pouring water on his face to try to rouse him. While he couldn’t understand exactly what they were saying, he eventually understood they were trying to take him to the hospital.
Upon arrival at the emergency room, he was hooked up to two separate IVs with antibiotics and anti-nausea medication, at which point he again passed out.
When he woke up the second time, a nurse assured him that, if he felt alright, he could go home. After deciding to leave, he braced himself for the bill for his night in the hospital, noting in the video that he doesn’t have health insurance.
The total for his entire stay? Just $31.
Christian’s video currently has over 566 thousand views.
@christian.grossi #fyp #tellme #backpacking #stories #hospital ♬ original sound – Grossi
In comments, American users were shocked by the low cost, while users from other countries were shocked that this low cost was news to American viewers.
“Americans when they learn that healthcare ain’t that expensive and is free in some countries,” one user wrote. Christian himself responded, “I’m still can’t comprehend this.”
“Umm…do americans not realise it’s like this almost everywhere in the world…,” another user agreed.
“Bro waiting in the lobby of a US hospital would cost you 20k,” a third joked.
For context, insurer United Healthcare estimates that a night in the Emergency Room in the United States will cost a person around $2,200—over 70 times as much as Christian spent for his night in a Moroccan ER.
While Morocco’s exact healthcare situation is complicated, it is not alone in offering its citizens and guests cheap or free healthcare.
Additionally, while Americans often believe they are getting better healthcare or better health outcomes for this high cost, they are not, according to a 2018 Harvard study summarized by the Harvard Gazette.
“Using international data primarily from 2013 to 2016, the researchers compared the U.S. with 10 other high-income countries—the U.K., Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan, Sweden, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Switzerland—on approximately 100 metrics that underpin health care spending,” explains the article. “The study confirmed that the U.S. has substantially higher spending, worse population health outcomes, and worse access to care than other wealthy countries.”
This information and TikTokers like Christian have made people think a little bit harder about the American standard of healthcare.
As one user wrote, “American healthcare is being robbed and kicked when you are down and the most vulnerable. It’s defeating and inhumane.”
We’ve reached out to Christian via TikTok comment.
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