If I'm an American visiting Canada then I would also be charged for any medical services I get in Canada as I do not pay taxes there nor have insurance in Canada.
Why are you assuming the author was uninsured in NY? Lots of Candadians buy travel health insurance when visiting the US.
Even with your unfair comparison: if you have health insurance in the US, it's quite easy to pay higher fees than you would uninsured in Canada. For example, compare Fidelis Care Silver[1] ambulance charge ($150 after deductible) with Canadian ambulance charge ($240 CAD -> $180.75 USD). The completely uninsured Canadian pays only $30 more than the insured American, and that's if the American has already paid their $1700 deductible, and has paid their premiums (which are more than the taxes Canadians pay toward their healthcare). And that's literally just grabbing the first US plan I looked at: I'm sure that there are worse insurance plans out there which people are forced to take.
Even with your unfair comparison: if you have health insurance in the US, it's quite easy to pay higher fees than you would uninsured in Canada. For example, compare Fidelis Care Silver[1] ambulance charge ($150 after deductible) with Canadian ambulance charge ($240 CAD -> $180.75 USD). The completely uninsured Canadian pays only $30 more than the insured American, and that's if the American has already paid their $1700 deductible, and has paid their premiums (which are more than the taxes Canadians pay toward their healthcare). And that's literally just grabbing the first US plan I looked at: I'm sure that there are worse insurance plans out there which people are forced to take.
[1] https://www.fideliscare.org/Portals/0/Members/ComparisonChar...