As an EU citizen who watched “Breaking Bad” I always assumed that in the US there actually would be some kind of insurance check even in emergency situations.

As an EU citizen who watched “Breaking Bad” I always assumed that in the US there actually would be some kind of insurance check even in emergency situations. I’m glad to learn that people in reality though, do get taken care of when in need. Anything else would be highly unethical, really. Life > debt. With regards to your hypothetical scenario as a Norwegian citizen: are you sure your Norwegian social security wouldn’t reimburse you in case of emergency treatment in the US? I know for a fact that Austrian social security would be pretty much obliged to (I would guess it’s the same for many other EU countries).