I live in rural New Mexico and medical services are very bad here.

I took my GF to the emergency room once with chest pains (turned out to be a lung infection). After an hours long wait we got to see the "doctor". The doctor came in in street clothes which were wrinkled jeans and a frumpy polo. He was not smart and from appearance, speech and thinking patterns easily could have been the janitorial mid level manager (no disrespect meant to janitorial staff). They did a chest scan, he said he would review it, then told her to go home and take a Motrin and then she got mysterious bills for the next year from the event.

I would go to Texas which isn't far if the emergency permitted it, and in fact they do airlift most serious cases directly to Lubbock.

Heh, I had a discussion with a security guard about rattlesnakes once while working in rural NM. "If you get bit by a rattlesnake, man, get on the radio and call me. I'll get you to the hospital. But we're going to Cruces... I'm not taking you to the hospital in T or C... you'll fuckin' die there."

>and in fact they do airlift most serious cases directly to Lubbock.

Just to be clear for those not familiar with the relative position of cities in Texas, imagine getting hurt in Illinois and the EMT's being like "the hospitals around here are shit, we're going to Gary".

Meanwhile, my worst experience with US healthcare was in a small town in Texas.