An American athlete at the 2024 Olympics has spent her time in Paris attending numerous doctor’s appointments because health care is free in the Olympic Village.
In a series of TikTok videos, Ari Ramsey, a U.S. rugby player whose team won the bronze medal, shared her experiences with free health care and criticized the expensive U.S. health care system.
“Ok guys, not only is there free food in the Village, but there’s free dental and free healthcare. I just got a free pap smear and I have a dentist appointment and an eye exam next week,” Ramsey said in a video. “So, what?”
She joked that she was only at the Olympics for the healthcare. During her time in Paris, she had a Pap smear, went to the dentist, had an eye test and even got free glasses. According to Sports Illustrated, the Olympic Village offers athletes free treatments in the areas of cardiology, orthopedics, physical therapy, psychology, podiatry and sports medicine.
She said that after her time in Paris, she would campaign for free healthcare.
“It’s crazy that I’m so excited about getting free dental care,” she said. “This will be my new fight for free health care in America. Period.”
According to David Cutler, a lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, the US health care system is the most expensive in the world due to a number of other factors, such as administrative costs and greed.
According to Cutler, pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. are able to set their prices without strict regulation, resulting in exorbitant prices for drugs like insulin. In addition, reputable hospitals charge much higher fees for the same services that less reputable facilities provide.
“America needs to improve its health care system. There’s no reason why I, as an American girl, should be so amazed about free health care,” Ramsay said. “And a lot of people say that in the comments, but the fact is that we don’t have free health care in America.”
