scbrit

Hi there,
Wondered if any of you had a similar situation, I live here in the states, my parents are considering moving here too, I have looked into the immigration side and that is straight forward. But my Dad will be 65, has anyone come over at this age, I was inquiring about health care, I know it'll be expensive, but where do I even start looking, he does have some issues, Diebetes etc.. Anyone else been there done that? Any advise.
Thanks

Ryan

scbrit,

I was just scanning this groups site looking for some help for my wife
to get her visa sorted. She's english, and I assume that your're
british from various clues in your message. I won't really be able to
help too much in terms of healthcare details, but wanted to help with
what little I can. First off, Britain or anywhere else in the EU is a
waaaay better place for your parents to be for their retirement (my
american opinion, of course). The main reason is exactly what you're
talking about- healthcare. I've lived in Britain and France, and most
of my life in the United States (various states) and even though the
U.S. supposedly has some of the best care, doctors, hospitals, etc.,
that excellent care is very expensive and for the few and far between.
As you may know, the bastards have been cutting taxes and waging war
and the gap between the rich and poor has been widening for decades.
What that means, to me, is that the united states can be a good place
for a young entrepreneurial (certainly spelled wrong) capitalist, but
the pits for retired foreigners. The property in some places is
certainly cheaper than Britain, but government aid for the elderly or
poor is nil and shrinking fast. In the end, it won't be cheaper to
live in the U.S. and if climate is what you're after, can't you find
that in France, Italy, or Spain?- all as cheap or cheaper than
Florida.

In terms of specific examples, I'll give you some. And again, I don't
know how long you've lived in the U.S. so this may be old hat to you.
A couple of years ago, while working illegally at a construction site
in London, I fell ill and it ended up being Glandular Fever
(mononucleosis). I was fearing that I couldn't afford a hospital
visit, but my wife (girlfriend at the time) said "what do you mean,
hospitals are free." I said not for me, etc. I'm american. As it
turns out, it was free, no questions asked, sort of thing. I went to
see a doctor in france not long after that- she charged me 150 francs-
15 quid. The 2 or 3 prescriptions came to no more than a tener. My
brother came to visit one time and came down with some kind of bad
allergic rash. We went to a doctors and they said they'd have to
charge 30 or 40 quid. We said no problem, then the doctor came out
and said, look, the emergency hosp. is just behind us, and its free-
I'll make you an appointment there. Now, from your perspective, thats
normal, humane behavior. When my wife and I went on a honeymoon out
west, we got food poisoning in San Fran. We ended up violently ill
and at the hospital there. I was worried about the bill, since we
didn't have insurance. They said about $200 each and I was like,
whoah, but OK, we're pretty ill. We stayed there about 3 hours and
drank that charcoal crap and got better. We got the bills later and
for the two of us it came to close to $5000. Our son (7months) was
born in Bristol and had excellent at home care, etc. etc. We're
obviously very poor (I'm an artist) and they even give us child
benefit (still). We came to the U.S. recently and he had the chicken
pox. One doctor's visit was $120. One prescription was over $100.
Recently I went to a specialist and he charged $200 for the 15 minute
visit, not counting the 3 hours I waited to see him (no exaggeration).
My newly acquired insurance had a $150 deductable and thats what I
paid. But for a typical insurance, you pay between $200-$300 per
MONTH!

Now, you asked about Health insurance, right? Its obscenely high,
unless you qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, and then the quality is
worse than in Britain. But as foriegn nationals, your parents
probably will get screwed. You might be able to slip them around the
horrible system somehow, like not claim permanent residence there and
get the British gov. to pay, or get them nationalised and in Medicare,
but its doubtful. In case you're not tuned in lately, Healthcare
costs are rising and we should all know why they're already so high.
These enormous insurance companies have to be paid- as well as their
counterpart insurance specialists stationed at the doctor's office or
hospitals, lawsuits for malpractice make doctor's fees high (I heard
that a doctor may pay $100,000 a year for malpractice insurance)and
Pharmaceutical companies are getting fatter and more monopolistic
thanks to their contributions to the Republican party. These people
are thieves and I can't believe its gotten so out of hand. I'm no
expert, just an ordinary guy, but call up some random insurance
companies and see if I'm right.

Hope that was helpful, without putting you off too much.
-Ryan

    > Hi there,
    > Wondered if any of you had a similar situation, I live here in the
    > states, my parents are considering moving here too, I have looked into
    > the immigration side and that is straight forward. But my Dad will be
    > 65, has anyone come over at this age, I was inquiring about health
    > care, I know it'll be expensive, but where do I even start looking, he
    > does have some issues, Diebetes etc.. Anyone else been there done
    > that? Any advise.
    > Thanks

scbrit

Thanks for your opinion, I have been trying to talk my Dad out of wanting to come, as I know his insurance would be outrageous, I am lucky with the health insuance I have with company I work for. Thats why I get alittle homesick once in a while! Miss the ease of going to the doctors etc.. I shall look into it abit more, but I will definately point the more monetary issues to him, I would hate for them to have huge debts etc because something wasn't covered, (thats what gets me the most, you pay alot for insuarance and then you have exclusions, limits... They suck enough money!) He wants to live here because of ease of life down here in South Carolina, and i think he wants to be near his daughter.
Thanks...

olc-caNOSPAM

On 4 Dec 2002 15:27:39 -0800, (Ryan) wrote:

    >scbrit,
    >I was just scanning this groups site looking for some help for my wife
    >to get her visa sorted. She's english, and I assume that your're
    >british from various clues in your message. I won't really be able to
    >help too much in terms of healthcare details, but wanted to help with
    >what little I can. First off, Britain or anywhere else in the EU is a
    >waaaay better place for your parents to be for their retirement (my
    >american opinion, of course). The main reason is exactly what you're
    >talking about- healthcare. I've lived in Britain and France, and most
    >of my life in the United States (various states) and even though the
    >U.S. supposedly has some of the best care, doctors, hospitals, etc.,
    >that excellent care is very expensive and for the few and far between.
    > As you may know, the bastards have been cutting taxes and waging war
    >and the gap between the rich and poor has been widening for decades.
    >What that means, to me, is that the united states can be a good place
    >for a young entrepreneurial (certainly spelled wrong) capitalist, but
    >the pits for retired foreigners. The property in some places is
    >certainly cheaper than Britain, but government aid for the elderly or
    >poor is nil and shrinking fast. In the end, it won't be cheaper to
    >live in the U.S. and if climate is what you're after, can't you find
    >that in France, Italy, or Spain?- all as cheap or cheaper than
    >Florida.
    >In terms of specific examples, I'll give you some. And again, I don't
    >know how long you've lived in the U.S. so this may be old hat to you.
    >A couple of years ago, while working illegally at a construction site
    >in London, I fell ill and it ended up being Glandular Fever
    >(mononucleosis). I was fearing that I couldn't afford a hospital
    >visit, but my wife (girlfriend at the time) said "what do you mean,
    >hospitals are free." I said not for me, etc. I'm american. As it
    >turns out, it was free, no questions asked, sort of thing. I went to
    >see a doctor in france not long after that- she charged me 150 francs-
    >15 quid. The 2 or 3 prescriptions came to no more than a tener. My
    >brother came to visit one time and came down with some kind of bad
    >allergic rash. We went to a doctors and they said they'd have to
    >charge 30 or 40 quid. We said no problem, then the doctor came out
    >and said, look, the emergency hosp. is just behind us, and its free-
    >I'll make you an appointment there. Now, from your perspective, thats
    >normal, humane behavior. When my wife and I went on a honeymoon out
    >west, we got food poisoning in San Fran. We ended up violently ill
    >and at the hospital there. I was worried about the bill, since we
    >didn't have insurance. They said about $200 each and I was like,
    >whoah, but OK, we're pretty ill. We stayed there about 3 hours and
    >drank that charcoal crap and got better. We got the bills later and
    >for the two of us it came to close to $5000. Our son (7months) was
    >born in Bristol and had excellent at home care, etc. etc. We're
    >obviously very poor (I'm an artist) and they even give us child
    >benefit (still). We came to the U.S. recently and he had the chicken
    >pox. One doctor's visit was $120. One prescription was over $100.
    >Recently I went to a specialist and he charged $200 for the 15 minute
    >visit, not counting the 3 hours I waited to see him (no exaggeration).
    > My newly acquired insurance had a $150 deductable and thats what I
    >paid. But for a typical insurance, you pay between $200-$300 per
    >MONTH!
    >Now, you asked about Health insurance, right? Its obscenely high,
    >unless you qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, and then the quality is
    >worse than in Britain. But as foriegn nationals, your parents
    >probably will get screwed. You might be able to slip them around the
    >horrible system somehow, like not claim permanent residence there and
    >get the British gov. to pay, or get them nationalised and in Medicare,
    >but its doubtful. In case you're not tuned in lately, Healthcare
    >costs are rising and we should all know why they're already so high.
    >These enormous insurance companies have to be paid- as well as their
    >counterpart insurance specialists stationed at the doctor's office or
    >hospitals, lawsuits for malpractice make doctor's fees high (I heard
    >that a doctor may pay $100,000 a year for malpractice insurance)and
    >Pharmaceutical companies are getting fatter and more monopolistic
    >thanks to their contributions to the Republican party. These people
    >are thieves and I can't believe its gotten so out of hand. I'm no
    >expert, just an ordinary guy, but call up some random insurance
    >companies and see if I'm right.

I might have believed some of this before you claimed that Medicare
has poor quality. It's by and large the same doctors and hospitals
that everyone else uses so the care is the same.

The cost of living in different countries depend greatly on you
lifestyle. Living an American lifestyle in Mexico, say, can cost more
than in the US.

    >Hope that was helpful, without putting you off too much.
    >-Ryan
    >> Hi there,
    >> Wondered if any of you had a similar situation, I live here in the
    >> states, my parents are considering moving here too, I have looked into
    >> the immigration side and that is straight forward. But my Dad will be
    >> 65, has anyone come over at this age, I was inquiring about health
    >> care, I know it'll be expensive, but where do I even start looking, he
    >> does have some issues, Diebetes etc.. Anyone else been there done
    >> that? Any advise.
    >> Thanks

olc-caNOSPAM

On Thu, 05 Dec 2002 00:09:48 +0000, scbrit
wrote:

    >Thanks for your opinion, I have been trying to talk my Dad out of
    >wanting to come, as I know his insurance would be outrageous, I am lucky
    >with the health insuance I have with company I work for. Thats why I
    >get alittle homesick once in a while! Miss the ease of going to the
    >doctors etc.. I shall look into it abit more, but I will definately
    >point the more monetary issues to him, I would hate for them to have
    >huge debts etc because something wasn't covered, (thats what gets me the
    >most, you pay alot for insuarance and then you have exclusions,
    >limits... They suck enough money!) He wants to live here because of
    >ease of life down here in South Carolina, and i think he wants to be
    >near his daughter.
    >Thanks...


The British health service is not exactly readily available. See
http://www.london.edu/sysdyn/Working...rs/WP-0026.pdf
and read the Abstract.