[vijayr]

They sent me a bill for over $900. For taking a picture, and giving me tylenol and an ace bandage.

That is awful :(

Imagine someone making minimum wage. 900$ is huge for most people.

Honest question - outside of politics, is there anything a person on the road do to help make this situation better (other than not falling sick)? Any company/org working on solutions?

[logfromblammo]

Generally speaking, most of the people "working on the problem" are actually working out ways to profit enough from the existing mess that it doesn't affect them personally.

If you intend to visit the US, you absolutely need to buy traveler's insurance, with medical coverage, before you enter. If you can't afford the premium, cancel your trip, and go spend money in a country with a better paradigm for emergency medicine.