Question

U.S. Olympians used their trip to the Olympics for healthcare they couldn't afford to get in the U.S.

Answer 1

The claim of this post is exaggerated and misleading. As in the linked article the author states that the athletes are taking advantage of the healthcare system at the Olympic Village while they are there to participate rather than "using" their trip for that purpose.

The claim of the origin article "U.S. Athletes Are Taking Full Advantage of Free Healthcare in Olympic Village" seems to not be misinformation.

The basis of this article stems from a video created by a women's rugby player named Ariana Ramsey. In this video she is astonished that the Olympic Village has free healthcare and that she is taking advantage of it. This is a real video made on her TikTok account: https://www.tiktok.com/@ariana.ramsey/video/7398545725640035627

The fact that the Paris 2024 Olympic Village has free healthcare seems to also be true. They have a list of services available to athletes free of cost on their website: https://olympics.com/athlete365/articles/paris2024/don-t-miss-these-brilliant-services-in-the-paris-2024-olympic-village along with a detailed overview of their main medical team: https://olympics.com/ioc/medical-and-scientific-commission/games-group. 

Answer 2

This is somewhat true but also misleading. This article and other trusted sources like NBC, The Guardian, and The Washington Post have all made articles on this same thing, that US olympians used the free healthcare that the Olympic Village offers them. According to NBC Philadelphia, "The Village also offers specialized consultations in sports medicine, orthopedics, gynecology, cardiology and physiotherapy to athletes, free of charge, according to Chief Medical Officer Philippe Le Van." But the claim made is that the US Olympians "used their trip for healthcare". This is misleading. According to si.com "She says she has gotten DMs from other athletes expressing surprise, and a few people have recognized her in person and said that her videos encouraged them to visit the clinic.” This shows that many of the athletes didn't even know the options existed, so they did use the healthcare they were provided by the olympic village during their time there, but they didn't use the trip for the healthcare. 

https://www.si.com/onsi/serve/news/giovanni-mpetshi-perricard-beats-frances-tiafoe-in-paris-masters

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/paris-2024-summer-olympics/free-olympic-health-care-ariana-ramsey/3940125/

Comments

I agree that the claim is misleading and I like that you stated that trusted news sources like NBC, the Guardian and The Washington Post to prove why the claim was misleading. There is a difference between going to Paris for the Olympics and happening to have a free doctors office in the Olympic Village and going to Paris with the express intent of getting free healthcare. I also liked that you used direct quotes from athletes expressing their surprise.

Answer 3

The post is an opinion by a woman that claims to be Director of campaign for New York Health. I scrolled through her posts, and they all are very large statements without much backup. 

Referring to this article, she says "Olympians are using their trip to the Olympics for free healthcare". That is her opinion. Rather, the actual article she cites says they are simply taking advantage of the free healthcare. Her phrasing is just a bit misleading. 

Sport Illustration makes a well backed claim that a certain U.S rugby player discovered she can get free healthcare. This report is also in CNN, and Washington Post among others. Here:

 Ariana Ramsey: Team USA medalist becomes free healthcare advocate | CNN

US Medalist's Experience of Free Healthcare in Olympic Village Bolsters Case for Medicare for All | Common Dreams

This U.S. Olympic athlete is making the most of free health care - The Washington Post

All three of these articles state similar or the same information as the Sports Illustration article, however, Melanie D'Arrigio made her claim misleading from the original source. 

The sports illustration report is true, however, Melanie D'Arrigio's post is simply misleading facts from the report. A simple switch of words "using their trip" vs. sports illustration saying "taking advantage"

Answer 4

I think the original claim is misleading, and the word "using" makes it sound like they weren't there to compete in the Olympics and like that wasn't their first priority at the time. The article they referenced from si.com talked about an athlete named Ariana Ramsey taking advantage of the free healthcare in Olympic Village. She started posting videos on Tiktok to bring awareness to the topic. An article on cnn.com confirms this point. The original claim is not necessarily all true, and there isn't evidence to back up the fact that the athletes couldn't afford healthcare in the US.