They do qualify if they suddenly become poor, which is the point of the safety net.

> $350k… extremely wealthy

In many parts of California this is someone who can buy a just okay house with a long mortgage. Have we redefined the word wealthy?

350k is 99th percentile in terms of income, so I'm not the one redfining "wealthy".

If you can't afford a nice house with 350k/year, move a mile or two away from your upper class enclave to the middle class neighborhood and live like a king.

It's not. 350k is 3% for the entire USA [1]. For somewhere like California if your _household_ isn't making $1M you're not 1% [2]. Even in the poorest state (West Virginia) if you lived alone then you're not even a 1%-er.

People really do think of themselves as at the top when they're not. You're very good but not the top.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_in_the_United_States

[2]: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-top-1-percent-in...

> someone who can buy a just okay house with a long mortgage.

Look up housing prices in some major European cities (generally way less affordable that in most of the US if adjusted by income).

In London, Paris or Munich prices are about as bad as in SF or NY yet median income is considerably lower (also good luck getting a fixed 30 year mortgage, so there is also considerably more risk even if you can afford it)

> suddenly become poor

If you earn over €350k per year you really have to make some very poor financial decisions for that to happen. Besides from changing illnesses/accidents etc. but you would still most likely end up in a much better position financially if you saved that extra 10% you pay in taxes or went with a private insurance option.

Of course healthcare is probably a different matter.

Do you have a citation for the idea that wealthy Europeans are getting the bulk of their treatment in the US? I can't say I've ever come across that idea at all.

I've heard of people paying for private medical care, to supplement their free healthcare, but not traveling to the US for it.

European Health and Dental Tourism is Korea and BKK these days, nobody in their right mind would go US unless it’s a very specialized condition.

Yeah, that sounds like a very strange claim. There are some very decent/expensive private hospitals in Germany, Switzerland and I assume elsewhere..

> and for the most part have chosen to have the bulk of their medical treatment in the U.S.

Citation? Because that is very rare, even for the very rich.

This is generally true, except that it’s not necessary to travel to the US. You can see a local private doctor or dentist (often accredited by a US university, using US developed medical technology) locally.