This is extremely helpful -- thank you all very much indeed.

Is there something in particular about the US health care system, other than the presumed cost to the patient, that warrants special warnings? I am nonplussed, I guess, to see our relations tootling off to Tunis or Cyprus feeling fully secure, but completely afraid to set foot on this side of the Atlantic. Is it just that spot medical care is less costly to the uninsured individual in most other places?