Daily Show host Trevor Noah skewers the American health care system after his emergency appendectomy

Trevor Noah
(Image credit: Screenshot/CC.com)

Daily Show host Trevor Noah, who is South African, has only been living in the United States since 2011, so when he had an emergency appendectomy on Wednesday morning, it was his first real tussle with the U.S. health care system. It was a rather rude awakening too, according to Noah, who justly pointed out how nonsensical Americans are when it comes to "emergencies."

"I don't know if 'emergency room' is the right term, because they make you wait," Noah pointed out on his first show back after the surgery.

Noah went on to explain the absurdity of the entire situation: He was periodically fainting from the pain even while a nurse insisted he fill out his paperwork before he could get treated. "The lady's like, 'Can you fill out the form?' And I'm like, 'Well, no, I'm dying.' And she's like, 'Yeah, but I need you to fill out the form first,'" Noah said.

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Then there came the issue of insurance, which Noah wasn't sure if he had or not.

"'She was like, 'How are you paying for this?' And I was like, 'With my life, clearly,'" Noah deadpanned.

Lucky for him, the woman recognized his face from billboards and figured he'd be able to foot the bill. Watch the entire video here.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.