# U.S. Athletes Are Taking Full Advantage of Free Healthcare in Olympic Village  ## Metadata - Author:: [[Stephanie Apstein]] - Full Title:: U.S. Athletes Are Taking Full Advantage of Free Healthcare in Olympic Village - Category: #articles - URL: https://www.si.com/olympics/american-athletes-taking-full-advantage-of-free-healthcare-olympic-village-france ## Highlights > So in the days following her victory, Ramsey made appointments with the Village gynecologist, dentist and ophthalmologist. According to the Paris 2024 organizing committee, the Village also offers cardiology, orthopedics, physiotherapy, psychology, podiatry and, of course, sports medicine—all at no cost to the athletes. (Paralympic athletes will also have access to dermatology.) ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j4yc649aa0p2wjgfefad1qav)) > “That’s just America and their privatized healthcare system,” she laments in an interview, adding, “I’ll fight for universal healthcare.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j4yc6vtczffhnp67esjzzeqs)) > A 2022 study by The Commonwealth Fund [found](https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2023/jan/us-health-care-global-perspective-2022) that the U.S. is the only high-income country without universal healthcare. Many American athletes do have access to the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s health insurance policy. But their eligibility for the program is up to their sport’s governing body, and an independent commission appointed by Congress [found](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/642af7d875688d63cfff08be/t/65e1bc1bf438017c9d43ba82/1709292599616/CSUSOP+Final+Report+%28Digital%29.pdf) that “some of the most talented competitors under our flag go to sleep at night under the roof of a car or without sufficient food or adequate health insurance.” More than a quarter of U.S. athletes report earning less than $15,000 per year, and more than 40% said they paid out of pocket for healthcare, with an average cost of $9,200 per person. Only 16% said they’d been reimbursed. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j4yc932ksnmckgzmnkmzqmga)) > Instead of going to Disneyland, skateboarder Steven Piñeiro, representing Puerto Rico, says, “I’m gonna go to the dentist.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j4yc9yb9wt9bn48p3arpf3am))