>Like I just mentioned in another comment, they're also a way to get you back to work ASAP. Just about everyone NOT working a comfy white collar office job needs to be working in order to make money. Time off is less income, people can't afford that so they do what they need to do to get back to work. >Sprained ankle? Injured back? Headache? Broken bone? All things that people work through everyday with some NSAIDs because calling out sick means losing income

The office workers will just pop the same damn pills and show up too. Office workers are more likely to show up when in pain specifically because their job doesn't aggravate it. Most people don't have a lavish BigCo sick time policy and even if they do why burn sick time just to be in the same pain and pop the same pills at home. Most people will just have to work harder to make up for being out anyway. It makes sense to just be in pain at the office.

Yup exactly, that's what I was getting at. In the US you can't afford to _not_ work. Not to mention that if you do have actual longer-term health concerns, you also need to pay for the actual treatment, and your insurance depends on your employer. The entire system is really quite flawed.

Yeah but getting that confirmation document is low effort. And at least in Belgium the doctor visit would cost just like $25 (from memory, haven't lived there for quite some time).