One of the most disturbing aspects of the US model is how mechanically efficient it is at extracting money. A couple years back, I drove my wife to the ER very early morning because she thought she was having a drug reaction (she wasn't, thankfully). After a brief moment of her checking in and explaining condition to the medical person that was vetting(?) incoming patients, we went to a little ER room. The part of it that has stuck with me since and will for the rest of my life is the nurse who got our health insurance info came around to our room before a fucking doctor did.