Phoebe has not felt well since the beginning of this trip. This morning our host insisted on taking her to the public clinic at the Red Cross located right up the street from our apartment.
There, two doctors examined her, did a lab test, and conferred with one another. They said the antibiotic her US doctor had prescribed before Phoebe ever stepped foot on the plane was inadequate. Her urinary tract infection was now far worse.
She was given three prescriptions-- two for antibiotics and one for the pain associated with this condition.
The total charge for this visit, for which the doctors apologised profusely, was €15. Phoebe gave them €20 and told them that €5 was a donation to the Red Cross. The prescriptions, which she filled at the local pharmacy, cost €22 for all three.
In American dollars, Phoebe spent a total of $43.59 for an emergency visit, lab test, examination, and medicine.
This is why I recommend not buying travel insurance.
Several years ago, another friend of mine broke her leg in the Provence region of France and the total cost for the exam, x-rays, and the cast was less than $75.
Unless you have a chronic illness that is not controlled-- and if that is the case I question why you are travelling in the first place-- you will be able to find routine medical for minimal cost in most foreign countries. Save those insurance dollars and splurge instead on a fine dinner at a great restaurant
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