franc11s

In an emergency, any hospital has the obligation to treat you. If you are NOT entitled to free service (read poor) then they will bill you or your insurance.

If it's not an emergency they will CHECK to make sure you can pay first, either through insurance, credit card, cash or whatever. In fact many run a credit check on you if you don't have insurance.

If you get treated, they will bill you and come after you for the money. In fact many hospitals outsource collections for debt and put non payment into debt collection in < 14 days if you don't pay. it'll hurt your credit score in no term and can even result in bankruptcy if you don't pay.

Even with insurance, depending on you cover (nothing is 100% - there are limits almost on EVERY policy), you may have to pay the difference until the deductable is met. If you don't pay the difference, they WILL come after you.

I pay $700 a month for a family of four. With have a $1500 deductable EACH. i.e. we pay the first $1500 and insurance covers most of the rest.

One of the HUGE reasons US Medical is so expensive is because of litigation. I know a doctor that earnt $170,000 a year BUT paid over $60,000 a year in insurance to cover against being sued.... Many doctors are retiring as they can't afford their own insurance against mal-practice (justified or not) law-suits.

Elvira

As NC Penguin said, you really need to study your health care insurance policy. If you weren't given it when you enrolled, go to your company's Human Resouces Office and ask for a copy, or where you can get it.

One important aspect to realize is that, if you are with an HMO, you cannot go to just any doctor or hospital - only those that are affiliated with your plan. Also be aware that, unless you are literally at death's door, you probably have to seek authorization from your insurers before you visit an emergency room.

I would suggest that, once you have familiarized yourself with your medical insurance policy, you make an appointment with a Primary Care Physician within your insurers' group. It's not a good idea to have to search around for a doctor if you are actually ill - better get acquainted beforehand! Also, the staff at the doctor's office will probably be able to answer any questions that you have.

Also, most dental and vision plans have a yearly maximum, so it might be a good idea to get your teeth and eyes seen to now, before the end of the year.

frrussre

As others have already said, contact the Medical Plan Administrator". These days you more then likely have an "HMO", they should have given you a plan book. IF you have an HMO, then there are different prices for in-plan or out of plan. In-plan would say have a Copay of $10 - $20 every time you see your Primary Doc (GP). He would direct you to a specialist (You probably would need a referral letter. Our policy, no referrals needed), specialist i.e heart doc, would charge you a Copay. If you need operation, then you may have 80% coverage. That means you would pay 20%. Emergency room, usually would be fully covered by decent PLAN. You may or may not have Rx cover, or copay $0 -$10 to Wholesale + 10%. Does the plan cover your family? We can't tell. Variables are endless. This is one of the toughest topics. You need to look at the PLAN. No one on here can tell you what you have.
WITHOUT putting a downer on County Hospitals, they are obviously not up there with the better private hospitals. People would generally only go to them if they have NO insurance or No money. You may sit in ER room all night.
Reg. Frank R.

Elvira

The latter is true all right, but some County Hospitals are also university or teaching hospitals, which can be useful if you are unlucky enough to develop a really serious disease...

frrussre

Depends where you live. I don't know anyone who would choose to go to a CITY Hospital in NYC.
Reg.
Frank r.

Manc

I can assure you that in the UK it isn't totally free.

I paid many a Nat Insurance premium every month.

AlexanderAshok

Hi,

Does that mean that the National Insurance which they were taking from our pay was for the medical.. And do you mean that its the same when we pay for our insurance here in USA as like in UK the NI pay..????????

I bet that what we pay here for the insurance is more than what we pay for the NI there in UK...

Let me know about your view.

Regards,

-Alex

Manc

my view is that the NHS isn't free.

dragonfly

You are correct the NHS is not free you pay for it in your national insurance contributions however you do not have to pay when you rewquire treatment. I have a lot of collegues both Doctors and nurses who still work in the UK and they feel that the NHS is gradually being privitisied by the back door. Private Dentists paying for cetain plastic surgery procedures and in some cases IVF the list does go on.

kevntrace

Precisely the advice I was going to give Dawn, but you beat me to it.

There are typically two different types of plans, HMOs and PPOs. HMOs are like the NHS in that you go to your GP and he refers you to any specialists. On a PPO you can skip the GP and go straight to a specialist - but it usually costs a bit more.

Be aware that there are "in-network" providers and "out-of-network" providers, and you are always going to pay more for out-of-network. So make sure to pick in-network providers to keep costs down.

Basically you receive treatment, the provider bills your insurance, the insurance adjusts the amount (for in-network they have an agreed payment schedule defined) and pays the provider. You receive an EOB (Explanation Of Benefits) statement from your insurance, and a bill from your provider. You are left to pay the remainder, whatever that may be (it varies widely, so hard to give specifics).

There you go, US healthcare insurance in a nutshell.

tony126

Absolutely right. If you were on say £500/week in the UK you would be paying £44.66/week NIC. That equates to $78/week (@ $1.75 exchange rate) in the USA. So the NHS it is not free. The following link may be useful to a lot of people when they consider taking a job in the USA and get told what their contributions are. It is not as bad as it seems when you compare back to your UK NIC and waiting lists are extremely short, in fact very very short in the USA.

http://www.worksmart.org.uk/tax_calc.php.

Bearing in mind that part of your NIC went towards your AOP although I think you can opt out of that depending on a number of factors.

elfman

Yes, but it's free at the point of delivery, and the amount you personally pay (i.e. in tax etc) is not influenced by your personal health circumstances, any pre-existing conditions or the frequency of use, etc.

That's not true for everyone in the US, it rather depends on how good your health insurance is - if you have any, which 45 million Americans don't.

Interesting. If I were paid my US salary back in the UK I would be paying an extra 1% in tax and NI.

Elvira

AAMOI, did you take property tax :scared: vs council tax into the equation?

Certainly tips the balance (the wrong way, unfortunately) for us .

frrussre

Pensioners/students/children/unemployed, get the same treatment as others on NHS. No cost or low cost Rx for all. Ambulances arrive FOC. USA has no comparison. Anyone who thinks they do is dreaming.
My mother gets her entire medical treatment FOC, she gets her medication FOC. She has no fear of losing her home, because she can't pay medical bills. Lose your job in USA , lose your medical Ins (if you have any, 20% DON"T have any insurance).
More people in USA lose their homes "Foreclosure" because they can't pay their medical bills. Who in UK, lost their home because of medical bills.
Reg. Frank R.

elfman

No, the comparison was purely based on deductions from my pay. For me Property tax vs council tax would also tip things in the UK's favour.