Hospitalized in Aruba...Have no fear!

[canadave]

My wife, Connie, awoke with a fever of 104 last week, and decided an antibiotic was in order and therefore, a trip to the local hospital. We're Canadian and used to long waits, largely due to our socialized (i.e."free") medical system. We arrived at 7:30 a.m. and, after plunking down $90 on a Visa Gold Preferred (more about that to follow) she was immediately seen by: a triage nurse, the on-call emerg. M.D. and a lab tech who drew blood. By 8:10 an internist was there who wheeled in an ultrasound machine and performed the test himself while I watched. At 8:35 the lab results were in, and Connie was diagnosed with a severe bladder infection and immediately admitted! All within an hour or so.
It did take a while to get a room, due to overcrowding, and the food was lousy compared to our standards, but the care was excellent.
Re. the costs: I had to give a $1780 deposit on my Visa. She was in 3 days, and the hospital bill was around $1650 and I had to pay the doctor $600 in cash. Upon my return to Canada, I contacted Visa; they said we'd get a full refund as long as we provided appropriate receipts and paper work. Make sure your credit card has out of state coverage!