When I was the beneficiary of socialized medicine (military health care system), my provider thought I might have an ulcer. He, with my full understanding, just gave me antibiotice, because if they worked, it meant I had an ulcer and if they didn't, THEN they could do the more expensive tests. Antibiotics, cheap; tests, not so much.

They didn't work, and maybe less than an hour after I took them, I wound up having to gulp down a lovely lidocaine cocktail, but it turned out I had some serious reflux. It would have cost the government maybe a couple of bucks in pills if it HAD been an ulcer.