But on the whole it’s indeed cheaper than getting insurance. I pay roughly €1200 a year and still have an ‘eigen risico’ of a €150 (meaning that I have to pay the first €150 in medical expenses out of my own pocket, before the insurance company starts paying). But the only serious medical costs I had in recent years were back in 2002, so basically I’m paying premium for nothing.

Story reminds me of a time I went to a clinic in the Hague. Course I lived in a district where gangs dealt drugs on the street corner but nevertheless. It was exactly like the place you described with the bullet proof glass and everything. Sorta surreal.