Trevor Noah Riffs on American Healthcare After Emergency Appendectomy

When Trevor Noah took over the hosting gig on The Daily Show, some folks asked him how he was going to critique the U.S. as a foreigner. “I’m going to have to experience America,” he said, and earlier this week he got a perfect opportunity after rushing to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy.

Criticizing the amount of paperwork he was asked to fill out before being attended to while in excruciating pain, Noah said, “I don’t know if ‘Emergency Room’ is the right term, because they make you wait … The lady’s like, ‘Can you fill out the form?’ I’m like, ‘Well, no, I’m dying.'”

After Noah nearly fainted, he says the woman followed him to ask how he would be paying for the surgery, asking if he had health insurance (which he wasn’t sure about). Questioning whether he would be able to afford paying for the procedure without insurance, she answered her own question: “You know what, I’ve seen the billboards, you’re fine, you can pay for this.”