I once collapsed and lost consciousness in the streets in Russia. Someone must have called an ambulance. I woke up in a hospital with a woman yelling at me for my insurance number. (I am a Russian citizen but I have never lived there, I tried explaining I had a traveller’s insurance, but she didn’t understand what I meant.) Anyway, after I got treated they released me basically as Jane Doe, I never got billed anything.

Over the course of the years I had to go to a hospital in Russia two more times. Each time they would rather not bother with figuring out how international insurance works (basically, I would pay a bill and then send it in to the insurance company and they would reimburse me - I explained that over and over) and just let me go free of charge.

The treatment was good and professional and stereotypically unkind. I’m still amazed by how they’d rather not bill you because they aren’t sure what you’re talking about than try to get the money and let you figure out how to pay it. Too much of a hassle I guess.