American rugby sevens player Ariana Ramsey is leaving Paris with more than just a bronze medal. After discovering that the Olympic Village not only offers free food to athletes, but also a range of free healthcare options, she is heading home with a pap smear, free eye and dental exams. She has even received free prescription glasses. To celebrate her now viral TikTok video“Like, What?”
The Olympic Village – where athletes stay during the Games – began offering free medical care in 1932, according to Sports Illustrated. SI also reported that the village offers cardiology, orthopedics, physiotherapy, psychology and podiatry. Dermatology is also offered to Paralympic athletes arriving next week.
In the U.S., health care is covered by private insurance that often requires customers to pay out of pocket until a deductible is reached, as well as co-pays and coinsurance costs, with additional fees if a doctor is out of network. These costs often make even basic care like gynecological checkups unaffordable, and Ramsey has been chronicling her experiences with free health care on TikTok over the past week.
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“America needs to fix its health care system because there is no reason why I, an American girl, should be so surprised about free health care,” she said.
Ramsey, who made history in Paris when her team won the first-ever U.S. Olympic rugby sevens medal, is also a certified personal trainer. Her enthusiasm for the free care and the ease with which it is distributed has sparked heated debate on her social media, with some noting that it’s not “free” because someone else is paying for it, and others calling it “just embarrassing” for the U.S.
According to recently released figures, healthcare in the US is expected to cost $4.8 trillion in 2023. federal datawhich exceeds the country’s GDP. Per person, this amounts to an estimated $14,423 in 2023 with an expected increase to $15,074 in 2024. In France, the host country of the 2024 Games, that number was estimated would have been $5,740 per capita in 2020.
By the end of the Paralympic Games in September, more than 22,000 athletes will have remained in the Olympic Village, many of whom will have accessed the free care offered. Since making her first TikTok to raise awareness for the Olympic Village outpatient clinic, Ramsey said she’s been thanked by healthcare providers for her positive message and recognized on the street. The experience has sparked a new passion in her.
“I am officially a free health care advocate,” Ramsey said after a dentist appointment. “This is my new fight for action: free health care in America. Period.”
Ramsey began playing rugby in high school, where she also excelled in track, wrestling, and field hockey. She continued playing rugby in college at Dartmouth, where she was co-captain. She also represented the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics, where her team reached the quarterfinals.