Last year we spent a month in Spain. While there - my wife got Influenza B and ended up in the hospital for 5 days. When we got back - I submitted the hospital / medical expenses and got paid for them without any hassle. Made me a believer in trip insurance - esp to cover medical expenses in international travel. By the way - the 5 days in the hospital in Spain was amazingly cheap for medical expenses.
We used Allianz travel insurance.