This wasn’t my experience as a visiting tourist. Down south in Provence, while visiting the Roman ruins at Vaison-la-Romaine, my then 10-year-old son tripped and fell hard on his knee on a stone floor. I inquired at the auberge in the village where we were staying and got a referral to a local physician up the road in Malaucène.

The first thing I said to him (in French) when we walked in was that I didn’t know if my medical insurance back home would cover his fees in another country. He just chuckled and shook his head at these crazy Americans and their obsession with medical payments. He examined my son, reassured us that il n’y a rien cassé (“there’s nothing broken”) and charged me 200 francs (about $30 at the time) for the office visit, which I paid in cash out of pocket.

He sent us for x-rays the next day at the medical center in Carpentras, where they saw us promptly and sent us off with a copy of the film for our doctor back home. I don’t recall ever being billed a sou for the service. This is how things are done in a civilized country.