Most of those "creative solutions" are made by people who, to be frank, really have no idea what they're talking about.

If I get into a car accident, or if my intestine ruptures, do you think I want the person on the other end of 911 to have to deal with which ambulance provider I picked out or which ER I have on my list of approved locations? No. I want the closest ambulance to take me to the closest ER, and I want the first doctor available to take a look at me. Then, if need be, I want the first ER room open.

Counterpoint: At the time, we had insurance. Great insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield. Also, had State Farm for auto. Our medical policy on our auto policy was exhausted solely from the hospital visit and ambulance ride, and the other at-fault party's coverage (also State Farm) barely covered the first few doctor visits for my wife.

I've now had to pay several thousand dollars out of pocket for my wife's physical therapy, MRIs, and prosthetics, and have been told I will need to sue State Farm to recoup my out of pocket expenses.

I'm deeply sorry for what you had to endure, and I didn't mean to trivialize your situation.

No need to be sorry. I just wanted to demonstrate that even with insurance, healthcare is hard.

I'm not saying it is easy (it often isn't) but government provided accident insurance is provided to all (visitors included) within New Zealand. It provides medical cover and compensation for accidents for pretty much all situations. Wen you have a straight forward accident all is easy and it just works. The trouble arrives when you try to define accident or your injury was difficult to pin point. Botched operation? You might be covered. Infected mosquito bite? Not an accident, not covered. Infected insect bite? Accident, you're covered! Swallowed a chunk of glass? Accident IF it caused injury. No swallowed foreign body is classed as an injury unless it caused damage. Administering and defining this crap must often cost more than just paying out would. If you're filling out the paperwork, be very careful to write as little as possible and use the broadest terms possible.