Here in the UK chronic pain treatment is a farce. You get to go to meetings where they tell you to soldier on and if you can't, well try harder then. So there is a huge illegal market of opiates of all kinds and deaths are soaring. If people can't get prescription and can't stand the pain then where do they go? Dealers. Big pharma has a great grip on the government so things like medical cannabis are out of question. Fortunately it has been legalised a couple of years ago, but it is only available on private prescription after you have failed "traditional" therapy. If you are unlucky, you are looking at spending £300-600 a month out of your own pocket.

Might it not be possible to have your doctor write some "PT not possible"/"PT may result in additional injury" note? Failing which, is it possible to speak with someone higher up at your insurance company?

I do not know your background, but if you have sufficient resources (well, mainly money) it might be easier to contact an injury/similar lawyer and have them represent you to talk, and perhaps go to the legal dept of the insurance company. I am sorry for what you're having to go through, healthcare is unfortunately far from perfect (even outside the US).

If you were in the UK you would get a PT appointment 6 months in the future and told to rest and take painkillers (which you buy yourself). Or you pay out of pocket for a private specialist to actually get help.

How much does imaging cost without insurance?

As someone who pays taxes in Sweden and don't plan on having children, I would probably not choose to pay for 480 days parental leave per child, subsidised day care and child allowance payment to the extent they exists today if I had a choice.

> my insurance won't approve it without doing a full course of physical therapy first

This is the case in socialized systems as well. For example I need a monoclonal antibody injection regularly (MSRP $1500/dose) and in European systems I would need to prove that topical steroids and immunosuppressants did not work first before trying it. Just like Europe, I pay $0 for the doses, because the drug company has a program to cover my copay ($100/month) and the insurance company "pays" for the rest. No way the insurance company is paying MSRP, so that $1500 is definitely a fake price.

Also you have to consider that the US is subsidizing these European countries by paying for their defense. If France, Germany, and Italy had to pay for military expenditures necessary to defend against Russia then they would not have the budget to pay for such extravagant social benefits. European NATO countries have long been underfunding the military below NATO spending requirements.