penguinsix

It varies so much it's hard to say definitively. Each employer has their own plan that they use, and some are more attractive than others. In many large companies you actually have a 'buffet' of plans that you can select from, some of which cover this and that and some of which don't.

What you might be up against now is the pre-existing conditions problem--insurance plans won't cover a pre-existing condition (i.e. something you've received treatment for in the past or are currently receiving treatment for) for a certain period of time like 6 or 12 months. While the NHS is suppose to be a qualified insurance company that renders the pre-existing issue moot, many people have had problems getting that carryover from the UK to the US.

As you negotiate the package, you should point out that you want no gaps in your health coverage, and if the firm doesn't offer a health insurance plan that will ensure that, then you should get the firm to purchase you a temporary insurance plan.

The key in negotiating the agreement is that YOU are doing the company a favor by relocating--you should not be punished or harmed financially by making this move.

Manc

what I would advise to the OP is that she mandates or tries to mandate with the employer that they don't lose any current benefit they get from living in the UK.

4 weeks vacation
immediate day 1, land at the airport and covered for all conditions health insurance.

etc etc.

The Horticulturalist

I'll second that. We have a 4 and a six year old, they're having a blast and have settled in without a hitch. No homesickness for them, can't say the same about me!

mayhemuk

No experience of your area of work or the type of move you are making but from reading other posts I would make sure that you get a greencard for yourself so you can work if you want to in whatever field.
You see posts from partners of the transferee who end up in a rut because they can't get any job at all and feel stuck while their partner goes off to work.

Good luck!

PS On the healthcare I have found it is not like 'insurance' in the traditional sense of the word it is a healthcare 'plan/scheme' that you join. I have existing BP and Renal conditions and I have no trouble having them monitored/treated etc. We're with Kaiser under my wife's work. The scheme is also offered via my own work.

littleleroux

Thank you. Hubby never considered healthcare and naturally i was concerned.

In all honesty with the work thing, we are kind of undecided as to what I will do. I don't particularly want to work straight away because I'll need some time to sort out childcare etc for our baby. We will see. I really want us to do this if we can and he is the highest earner and has the best career prospects

meauxna

I think what people are trying to get at here is that there are several types of visas your OH's company might use for your situation.
Under at least one of them, you can't work if you needed to save your life.
Under another, you have the *option*. You may find you like having options open.

I think I'd move to SD given the chance. A little heavy on the traffic, but it's supposed to be the most perfect climate in the US and it's got some great neighborhoods.

Steerpike

Like Poppy Girl, I live in Northern CA, and I love living and working up here. San Diego is the one place I feel I could move to from the Bay Area; the weather is even better (San Diego has the 'best' weather in the US, by most measures - no high heat, no humidity, no cold, etc - just lots of comfortably warm sunny days). There is a bit less diversity in San Diego, but it's still 'coastal California' and thus, easy going, laid back, tolerant. Overall, you couldn't hope to encounter a better bunch of people or a better environment - you are lucky to have this opportunity.

Your husband should be able to make good money as an IT Director; that's pretty much my role. Salary.com shows a range from $138k to $186k (25th-75th percentiles) for La Jolla (there were too many zip codes to choose from in San Diego, and it sounds like you are talking about La Jolla anyway). I'd be curious to know what the corresponding UK salary would be these days.

For you, though, the situation is more challenging. If you think you will be happy without the challenge of a job, that's one thing. But you will need some reason/excuse/motivation to get 'out and about' and to meet people. Hopefully the kids will provide that vehicle. Many spouses suffer when they come along with their partner because they miss the friends and 'support structure' of home.

Even though your partner will be making good money, you need to take into account the fact that you will need two cars (San Diego is spread out), and you will want to live in a 'good' neighborhood (not only 'safe', but one with a good school district). House prices have plummeted in CA, but rentals are holding firm if not rising. Expect to pay $3k or more per month for a 3br house (maybe San Diego locals can refine that value but I did a quick search for 3br house rentals to confirm that figure).

PS - as Manc suggests, have your partner try to negotiate various coverages, etc, but don't be surprised if they push back on vacation. I changed jobs a couple of years ago and was able to negotiate many things, but NOT vacation; they held firm on 3 weeks PTO - setting me back 2 weeks from my prior job.

Good Luck!

NC Penguin

Huh?

The OP says that her spouse is being offered a transfer to come work in the US.

Based on my professional experience, I've not heard of any transferees and families not getting at least the same level of health insurance as local employees. Plus, there should be no break in coverage between one country to another.

The only major difference I cant think of is that the monthly premium to the OP and family will surely be greater once living/working in the US.

NC Penguin

The pre-existing "problem" may not exactly be a problem because the OP and family are not switching employers. i.e. the employer should already be aware of any "pre-existing" health conditions because the employer is potentially transferring the employee.

The OP and family are not switching employers, just work locations in different countries.

Jerseygirl

They are usually willing to prescribe meds for 3 months...my doctor said that was the max.

Try searching the US forums for old threads about relocation packages...there's some excellent advice in them.

fatbrit

The border is a stone's throw away from SD! If you need prescription meds, just get them on the other side. Probably find paying cash is cheaper than your health insurance co-pay.

littleleroux

Thank you.

I've had a little look at the visa situation. My understanding is that potentially, depending on what husband negotiates, I may have the option to study. Obviously I'd need to look at this more but if I want to continue with my own career this is what I will have to do. I understand that I will need to meet people but I'm kind of hoping that with my eldest at school and needing to find something for my youngest to do that I will have some opportunity to meet some other mothers.

At present the situation is that there is an opportunity for husband to be promoted to director level within Europe. He already effectively does the job just doesn't have the money but there is nobody else within the company that could do the job. We think he would be paid around £70,000 but if he were mving to a company from outside would probably earn closer to £90,000 in the UK.

The opportunities in san diego are with a breakaway part of the company. Interestingly his european role would be broken up into three roles in san diego...so there are potentially three positions he could take up. As hopefully he would have already become a director in the UK effectively he would be transferring as the new company won't be self sufficient until they are properly staffed. They seem to be throwing a lot of money at this new bit of the company.

Husband is a little vague on the relocation because it had been assumed that he wouldn't want to transfer from cold, miserable UK to sunny san diego (or ohio which was the original plan). However this has been really useful as he now has a lot of questions to ask and some things to negotiate.

I need to look closely at job opportunities for me. The problem I have is that I love doing all the nice normal bits of midwifery but in the UK get a nice mix of nice normal stuff and medicalised stuff. I don't want to be a nurse midwife but midwifery in the US is changing a lot so who knows.

We were kind of looking at poways to live. I know it's all boring housing and well planned but from what I gather the schools are fantastic and the convenience of being somewhere that is well planned and boring might be nice for a while.

I have to support hubby in doing this. Before this opprtunity came up he would have supported me in going to new zealand and if we hadn't met he would have made the move to the US a long time ago.

Tracym

On the pre-existing medical condition and insurance issues, several things are getting crossed imo.

To buy an indivivdual policy, there often the problem that you have to be in the country six months before they will insure you at all. But you're probably not trying to get an individual policy, so this shouldn't be an issue.

However - if you're being added to a group policy via your husband's employer, I have never heard of any six months waiting period to be insured. I would expect your entire family to be insured from day 1 - if not, I wouldn't come here for that company.

OK, so now I've said you should be insured. What about the pre-existing condition?

US insurance companies group policies often do not cover pre-existing conditions right away IF you have had a gap in coverage. They might not cover them for up to a year. BUT, you do have coverage. The term that is used is "creditable coverage".

The NHS is supposed to be creditable coverage. Insurance guidelines specifically say so. I do understand some people have had problems in this area. It did work fine for us. What apparently needs to be done is to prove that you have had continuous coverage under the NHS. There is a "certificate of creditable coverage" form available on the internet - if your doctor would fill that out, that would probably be great. We just had a doctor write a letter saying that my OH as a UK citizen had been continuously covered by the NHS, and that worked fine with a major insurance company.

As far as the company reassuring you as to insurance concerns, they only have control over part of it. They need to promise you that you will be insured from day 1 - there is no waiting period imposed by the company before insurance starts. That is under their control. And as he is already an employee, and just transferring, any waiting period would be ridiculous imo.

How pre-existing conditions etc. are handled are under the control of the insurance company. The company needs to check the policy, and ask the insurance company to confirm that they will accept the NHS as creditable coverage. However, they cannot change what the insurance company rules are - they just have to make it clear what will happen.

However, with a high-level manager transferring, I would think the most likely outcome is that you will all be covered immediately, and that covering the asthma will probably not be a problem.

Good luck

Ozzidoc

I quite like Poway. I've done some work at PPH based there. It's a bit hot...but easy enough to get to downtown and the beaches from there.....

littleleroux

thanks. I just did a forum search and found the thread about the fires.

Poway looks nice enough I think. We aren't millionaires unfortunately and I kind of prefer hill views to sea views as long as the sea isn't too far away. At the moment in the UK we are about as far from the coast as you can get so anything would be an improvement.

Anyway we have our list of expectations from a relocation package now...just hope it all happens but we needed to give it some serious thought before hubby decided to go for the job or not. This forum has been very helpful