countrygirl33

I'm moving back to UK as a permanent resident, but was wondering if anyone ever kept their USA private insurance ? In the past while visiting , I have occasionally paid privately to see UK docs and claimed back the costs from my USA insurance. I'm thinking this might be an option to consider with my permanent move for as long as I can afford it, especially with the current COVId situation and possible difficulty in accessing medical care in UK. Also, has anyone ever kept Medicare when moved to UK. I'm retired and have friends who live in Mexico and still keep Medicare to return once a year or so for specific treatment/care if needed.. Anyone any thoughts on this .. Thanks

Pulaski

American health insurance is notoriously expensive, and I am reasonably certain that it would be cheaper to pay for private insurance in the UK, and far more likely to be useful too, unless you are retaining a home in the US and returning frequently to the US.

BTW Once you leave the US and make your home in the UK your days as a permanent resident will be number - and in theory you could lose it in as little as 6 mths. If retaining rights to enter and live in the US are important to you, and if you have been a permanent resident for at least five years (or three years if you are married to a USC), you should apply for citizenship.

countrygirl33

Thanks Pulaski, I am a dual UK/USA citizen.. If I applied for private insurance in the UK , I don't believe it would cover pre-existing conditions like my USA insurance does. Also, from what I understand , I don't think it is as comprehensive coverage as my PPO USA insurance either. I intend to be permanent resident in the UK and maybe return to USA once or twice a year for a few weeks .. I think you were saying that I could lose my USA insurance being a permanent resident in UK? I have an insurance plan that has coverage for USA citizens living abroad. I need to look into UK insurance to find out how it compares, but was thinking of trying to afford to keep my USA insurance for a while . My USA insurance will reimburse me for doctors and hospital procedures in UK.

Pulaski

You said you you are moving back to the UK as a "permanent resident", which has a very specific meaning in US immigration circles and it appeared that you said you are a "US permenent resident" returning to the UK to live.
Most private insurance in the UK is designed to be supplemental, i.e. it assumes that you will use the NHS most of the time and the private coverage will provide either quicker specialist appointments, or treatment, or provide access to services not provided by the NHS.
No I said you would lose your permant resident status in the US, because you appeared to have said you are a "permanent resident". Now you have clarified, that you are a dual UK/US citizen.
I am sure it will, but it seems like a pricy way to do it, though it would have the advantage of negating the need for travel insurance when visitng the US, which will only get more expensive as you get older.

durham_lad

My wife and I decided to drop our USA PPO plan when we moved back a few years ago and took out private insurance here. We are both age 65 and it costs £93/month including vision and dental. It also covers health care costs for us on trips to the USA which we usually do each year for about 4 weeks. (Not had to try that bit of the insurance fortunately). The NHS is the gate keeper and the insurance only kicks in if the waiting list for a procedure is longer than 6 weeks. We did use it once when my wife needed cataract surgery and it worked extremely well. I needed a non urgent heart procedure (ablation for AFib) but didn’t need to use the insurance as the local hospital was quick and efficient.

countrygirl33

Thanks Durham Lad, is it BUPA that you have? I am hearing that BUPA is the best there but will not apply to pre-existing conditions .. Thank you

durham_lad

we are with Aviva. We used https://www.activequote.com/ to get quotes from the differing companies and the folks at active quote were very good.

countrygirl33

Do they cover pre- existing conditions ? Thanks

spouse of scouse

https://www.aviva.co.uk/health/healt...ice%20for%20it.

countrygirl33

Thank you

SanDiegogirl

I know several people who have kept up their Medicare payments when spending quite a bit of time overseas, so they are able to get US treatment should they need it when they are back in the US.

However, as one said, if they were not on the basic level premium - around $140 a month - they would not do it. Some folks on higher incomes pay a lot more per month for Medicare, so it really is up to the individual to do what they can afford.

Medicare does NOT pay for overseas treatment by the way.........

durham_lad

We chose the moratorium option.

countrygirl33

Thanks SanDiegogirl.. I will try and keep my USA health coverage till I am fully settled and established with UK docs .. I'm thinking at least it will give me an option to return for treatment if needed during this Covid situation at the moment .. BTW , I also live in San Diego and have had Scripps as my provider for over 30years. They have been excellent, and I'm anxious to cut the care off ; although I have heard about excellent care on the NHS too..

robin1234

I divide my time about half and half between the US and UK. For US care, I retained my Medicare advantage plan - the premium (Part B Premium) is $145 dollars a month. I think, even if I spent most of my time in England and just visited the US for a few weeks each year, I’d keep up the Medicare part B payment. If the time comes when I can say with certainty, “I’ll never go to the US again,” then I’d probably stop paying the part B.

Streetlegal

On the surface, that seems quite a lot of money for not very much return. From what I've heard about taking out private insurance in the UK, it doesn't seem to yield that much of an advantage--mainly just shortening the wait time. Is that a fair assessment?

I am loath to lose the coverage I have here in the US when I return to the UK. I'm lucky with my employer. The coverage is superb and I need it with multiple chronic conditions.

Once I have seen a consultant, I can contact them directly thereafter, and they respond to email questions with two days. You never feel rushed and you get appointments usually within days. It's a doddle to contact anyone and arrange a phone consultation. I had emergency hearing loss during the summer, and in order to answer all my questions the ENT specialist arranged with me to have consultations with two other ENTs with different areas of expertise!! The level of professionalism with most of the consultants is superb--they know your record inside out, and all my test results are available for me online where I can look at and compare all previous tests.

The NHS will be a massive comedown. It's something I worry about a bit.