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US MEDALIST’S EXPERIENCE OF FREE HEALTHCARE IN PARIS
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Edward Carver
August 9, 2024
CommonDreams
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_ "In the Olympic Village in Paris, everyone has free healthcare as a
human right. In America, 1 in 4 cancer patients go bankrupt or lose
their homes because of the outrageously high cost of care." _
Ariana Ramsey celebrates after her United States team won the bronze
medal in women's rugby on July 30, 2024 at the Paris Olympic Games.,
Alex Ho/ISI Photos/Getty Images
U.S. Olympic rugby player Ariana Ramsey became a sensation on social
media this week after documenting a series of free healthcare visits
in the Olympic Village in Paris and becoming an advocate for universal
care in her home country.
Ramsey's initial TikTok video, published Saturday, went viral in
France after she expressed disbelief about the free healthcare on
offer, playing into the European idea that Americans—who live in the
only high-income country in the world without universal care
[[link removed]]—don't
know what they are missing.
"I literally just got a pap smear—for free," Ramsey, who won a
bronze medal last week, said. "And I have a dentist appointment, and
an eye exam next week. Like, what!?"
The Olympic Village polyclinic offers cardiology, orthopedics,
physiotherapy, psychology, podiatry and sports medicine—all free of
charge to athletes, according to
[[link removed]]_Sports
Illustrated_. The tradition of free healthcare for athletes dates back
nearly a century.
Ramsey, a 24-year-old from Pennsylvania who played rugby at Dartmouth
College, said
[[link removed]] in a
video that "there's no reason why me, an American girl, should be so
amazed by free healthcare."
In a separate post on Monday, recording while sitting in a dentist's
chair, Ramsey said, "This is going to be my new fight for action, free
healthcare in America. Period."
She now describes herself as a "universal free healthcare advocate" in
her TikTok bio [[link removed]].
Medicare for All advocates argued that everyone in the U.S. should
have the same access to healthcare that athletes have at the Olympics.
"In the Olympic Village in Paris, everyone has free healthcare as a
human right," Warren Gunnels, a top aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders
[[link removed]] (I-Vt.) and a staff
director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions, wrote
[[link removed]] on social
media. "In America, 1 in 4 cancer patients go bankrupt or lose their
homes because of the outrageously high cost of care and 68,000 die a
year because they can't afford healthcare. Yes. We need Medicare for
All."
Many Olympians have other jobs to pay the bills. Ramsey, for example,
is a certified personal trainer. The U.S. is one of the only countries
that doesn't directly fund its Olympic athletes, according to
[[link removed]]_Voice
of America_.
"U.S. Olympians are using their trip to the Olympics to get the basic
preventative healthcare they can't afford to get in the U.S.," Melanie
D'Arrigo, the executive director of Campaign for New York Health,
wrote [[link removed]] on
social media. "We should be embarrassed that we're the only
industrialized country without universal healthcare—all because
lobbyists pay off our politicians."
If Ramsey's newfound role as a political campaigner comes as a
surprise, it's not the first for her in Paris: the U.S. women's team
had never before medaled in rugby, and the last U.S. men's medal was
100 years ago.
The result came in stunning fashion. Down to Australia in the final
seconds of the bronze medal match, Ramsey got the ball and threw it to
teammate Alex Sedrick, who made a miraculous run the length of the
field to tie the game just as time expired, and then converted a kick
to win the game.
U.S. Olympic rugby player Ariana Ramsey became a sensation on social
media this week after documenting a series of free healthcare visits
in the Olympic Village in Paris and becoming an advocate for universal
care in her home country.
Ramsey's initial TikTok video, published Saturday, went viral in
France after she expressed disbelief about the free healthcare on
offer, playing into the European idea that Americans—who live in the
only high-income country in the world without universal care
[[link removed]]—don't
know what they are missing.
"I literally just got a pap smear—for free," Ramsey, who won a
bronze medal last week, said. "And I have a dentist appointment, and
an eye exam next week. Like, what!?"
The Olympic Village polyclinic offers cardiology, orthopedics,
physiotherapy, psychology, podiatry and sports medicine—all free of
charge to athletes, according to
[[link removed]]_Sports
Illustrated_. The tradition of free healthcare for athletes dates back
nearly a century.
Ramsey, a 24-year-old from Pennsylvania who played rugby at Dartmouth
College, said
[[link removed]] in a
video that "there's no reason why me, an American girl, should be so
amazed by free healthcare."
In a separate post on Monday, recording while sitting in a dentist's
chair, Ramsey said, "This is going to be my new fight for action, free
healthcare in America. Period."
She now describes herself as a "universal free healthcare advocate" in
her TikTok bio [[link removed]].
Medicare for All advocates argued that everyone in the U.S. should
have the same access to healthcare that athletes have at the Olympics.
"In the Olympic Village in Paris, everyone has free healthcare as a
human right," Warren Gunnels, a top aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders
[[link removed]] (I-Vt.) and a staff
director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions, wrote
[[link removed]] on social
media. "In America, 1 in 4 cancer patients go bankrupt or lose their
homes because of the outrageously high cost of care and 68,000 die a
year because they can't afford healthcare. Yes. We need Medicare for
All."
Many Olympians have other jobs to pay the bills. Ramsey, for example,
is a certified personal trainer. The U.S. is one of the only countries
that doesn't directly fund its Olympic athletes, according to
[[link removed]]_Voice
of America_.
"U.S. Olympians are using their trip to the Olympics to get the basic
preventative healthcare they can't afford to get in the U.S.," Melanie
D'Arrigo, the executive director of Campaign for New York Health,
wrote [[link removed]] on
social media. "We should be embarrassed that we're the only
industrialized country without universal healthcare—all because
lobbyists pay off our politicians."
If Ramsey's newfound role as a political campaigner comes as a
surprise, it's not the first for her in Paris: the U.S. women's team
had never before medaled in rugby, and the last U.S. men's medal was
100 years ago.
The result came in stunning fashion. Down to Australia in the final
seconds of the bronze medal match, Ramsey got the ball and threw it to
teammate Alex Sedrick, who made a miraculous run the length of the
field to tie the game just as time expired, and then converted a kick
to win the game.
For Ramsey, the bronze medal likely means she'll receive a bonus of
$15,000
[[link removed]]
from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. She's also tried to
maximize the medical benefits of being an Olympian in Paris, visiting
a gynecologist, dentist, and ophthalmologist.
Back home, medical services won't be as accessible, at least not for
many Americans. There were more than 25 million non-elderly uninsured
people in the U.S. as of 2022, according to
[[link removed]]
KFF, a health policy research nonprofit. Even a routine pap smear can
cost $125 to $250 for an uninsured person. U.S. spending on health
care exceeds any other high-income country and yet its health outcomes
are consistently the worst
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among peer nations.
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of
informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the
world a better place.
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