Yes. Nobody in Europe can even believe that things like ambulance rides could be anything but free. Those stories sound like depressing dystopia from a post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie.
I've had insurance from Arbor (Blue Cross) pre-ACA, from Erin's job at the Latin School (Blue Cross) pre-ACA, from Matasano (United), from BCBS on the ACA marketplace (and now at Fly, but that doesn't matter b/c...) and ambulance trips in all 4 of those, and all of them cost a fortune.
Later
Erin also points out that beyond the deductible cost, your ambulance has to be in-network, or it's not covered at all --- that bit our family too.
I'm a defender of our insurance system, weird as that sounds, but even I won't try to stick up for how we handle ambulances.
If you think only about yourself, of course not. If you think about your family, like your children and grandchildren that may not work in IT or a similar well paying industry, then it starts to become worth it. You know they will have an acceptable quality of life whatever happens. Years after your death.
Of course you can work a few years in California and move back to Europe. It takes some courage and a lot of people prefer to not move abroad.