The clinic visits were free, the medications only cost about $70, and the guards at the university got mad at us when we came back because we had taken a taxi there! They said, "Next time, please take an ambulance, because they're free and they're for people like you who cannot walk."
Statistically, the healthcare in Russia is worse than that in America, but our experiences here have been nothing but positive. There are plenty of ambulances, doctors and hospitals. There are also pharmacies on basically every street. When my friends needed help, they got the same level of comfort as I remember having in the U.S., minus the sharing rooms in the hospital. It's interesting to learn that other countries offer good health care at a fraction of the cost that the patient pays in U.S.!
