Emergency hospitilazation in U.K. for tourists does not require cards or pay bill

If any of the 700 athletes in London for the Olympic Games are unlucky enough to get injured, they’ll get treated at a state-of-the-art polyclinic situated inside the park. But for the half-million tourists, it’s straight to a British hospital for serious ailments requiring medical attention. For most Americans in London to see the games, though, a visit to the emergency room would be a truly foreign affair. You may be familiar with the National Health Service — Britain’s tax-funded public health care system. It fell prey to rhetorical vitriol during the Affordable Care Act debate stateside, when the shortcomings of British-style socialized health care were lambasted by U.S. politicians keen on avoiding a similar system. Read Article