Re: Keep USA Health Insurance?
 

This. This is what I remember when my dad had back surgery years ago. It was the first time my hard-line-labour-voting dad used the words 'private' and 'healthcare' in the same sentence without cussing and it was like a magic curtain had been lifted. He was whisked in and operated upon immediately instead of waiting months in pain.

Re: Keep USA Health Insurance?
 

When we moved to the UK in 2015 I was a bit worried about NHS wait times to see consultants and surgeons. We had very good private insurance in Australia and I looked into getting something similar for the UK. In the end we just decided that we'd self-fund if we needed anything urgently.

My husband needed shoulder surgery while we were there, his GP said that as it wasn't urgent his wait for a NHS consultant would be about 6 months. My husband wasn't in dreadful pain but it was enough to stop him being able to do some things, so I talked him into going private. Got the appointment with the surgeon within a week, sorted out the costs and he was booked in for surgery the following week.

The day before his surgery was scheduled he received a letter from the NHS, his appointment was for the following week. With the same surgeon he was seeing privately :lol: Still might have been a wait for the surgery through the NHS though, so he went ahead with having it done privately.

One thing I wasn't happy with was the standard of care in the private (BUPA) hospital. From the time he was taken to his room after theatre, around 5pm, until 8am the next morning, he didn't see a single person. Not a nurse, not a cleaner, no one. No observations, not even a drink of water. For a post-op patient that's absolutely shocking.

He put in a formal complaint (well, I did on his behalf!) which went nowhere. I'm so glad he was only in there for one night. As a contrast, he had another overnight stay a year or so later, this time in a busy city NHS hospital. The care he received was fantastic. Probably just the (bad) luck of the draw in this case, I'm sure that other BUPA hospitals are better. They'd want to be...

We're back in Australia now and I'm quite happy paying for our private health insurance, it's top level and although it costs around $4,500 per annum for the two of us, when I read how much people who self-fund their health insurance in the US pay I think we're getting a bargain.

Re: Keep USA Health Insurance?
 

I'd pay $4,500 (AUS?) per year for top level health insurance - bargain!

Re: Keep USA Health Insurance?
 

Yes AUD, about USD3,200.

To be fair though, every Australian is also covered by Medicare, which covers everyone for free in and out patient treatment and surgery in a public hospital, and also provides benefits for GP and consultant visits, radiology etc. Medicare is funded by a 2% levy on taxable income. People who aren't earning (unemployed, retirees etc) don't pay. So private health insurance here is more about avoiding any wait lists and having a fancier hospital experience.

Re: Keep USA Health Insurance?
 

In February my wife’s sister opted to go private, she has BUPA. She needed open heart surgery to replace several inches of the aorta plus the aortic valve. This was to repair an issue discovered during an NHS scan on a brand new body scanner. ( she had no symptoms) For the last 10 years she has been a volunteer in an NHS testing and monitoring survey.

With Covid raising its head she decided to press ahead and had the surgery in an NHS hospital in Edinburgh where she lives. We went up to look after her for the first 3 weeks in March, (she came home on the 3rd) returning to our home the day before the lockdown.

she is very pleased to have decided to get it done when she did.

Re: Keep USA Health Insurance?
 

That sounds like a huge surgery DL, I'm glad your sister in law got through it ok. That was nice of your wife and you to look after her.

Re: Keep USA Health Insurance?
 

Yes, major, major surgery. Long scar down her chest where the breast bone was split open plus a very long scar across the abdomen below the ribcage.

Her husband died 18 months ago, totally unexpected, we have been very close with them ever since our university days almost 50 years ago. As is sometimes said, the widow in circumstances like this can die of a broken heart and she almost did.

Both of them were incredibly fit, it has been a great shock to all of us. Once lockdown was eased in July we went back up to spend a week with her and after an 11 mile strenuous hike in the Pentlands declared her much improved!!

End of September she actually drove herself down to us, a 4 hour effort, stayed with us for a week then we all went to Northumberland for a week in cottage we had booked in Beadnell. Great weather, lots of outdoor activities plus a castle or 2. She has really recovered very well.

Re: Keep USA Health Insurance?
 

It must have been an awful time for you all, to lose him so unexpectedly. Your sister in law sounds like a real trouper, she's done so well after such a horrible year. Family helps so much, it's nice that you've stayed so close and can support her.

A cottage in Beadnell sounds like heaven to me, especially with a castle to wander around and imagine the lives of people who lived there. I really miss England. As soon as this virus buggers off we'll be back :)

Re: Keep USA Health Insurance?
 

I'm really glad she's made such a recovery, that's a pretty tough deal she's weathered. Glad you all have each other for support. It's one of the reasons I want to retire over there, I have 2 kids, 5.5 grandkids, 3 sibs and my dad's still around, it's a lot to miss.

Re: Keep USA Health Insurance?
 

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She has been absolutely brilliant in every way. We are very close to all our family which is one reason why it was so easy for us to slip back into UK living.

Beadnell is a lovely place to stay. Nice walk to Seahouses 2 miles up the road, plus several evenings we’d order from one of the various restaurants and nip in by car to pick up a meal. 3 miles walk down the coastal path south to Low Newton, very pretty place and a super pub where we had lunch. We also did a short trip to Craster for a walk up to Dunstanburgh castle 2 miles up the coast where we sat outside and ate the packed lunch we had brought, then bought some of the famous Craster kippers direct from the smokehouse for the evening meal. We also had a day in The Alnwick Garden, Bamburgh Castle and on Lindisfarne.

Too much info I’m sure but it was our only holiday all year, plus my wife’s sister had a permanent smile on her face as she had hardly been outside her house the entire year.