bbb1969

don't tell me they charge an arm and leg!!!!!!!!!!!!

Manc

plus your first born.

bbb1969

well looks like i'm going to be doing over time in a pizza place, but hey come on out there lets answer the question, have lead times come down in london for visa, all you people out there must have a view or experience, we got some gifted people in the UK, so come on answer the question???????????????????????????

BritGuyTN

Manc is only slightly joking

I had a recent 3 hour jaunt in an emergency room and I have tennessee state insurance through my wife (better than most company provided insurance benefits)

$5500 bill overall

insurance paid $1800 leaving me to pay the rest

nice

except not

bbb1969

Right, that's some thing to think about, but i went online to blue shield heath care, i guess if you have a reasonable policy it must cover you to a certain extent, i can't for see affording mega buck a month???????

BritGuyTN

it did cover me to a certain extent - to the extent of less than half the bill

as i said - the insurance is issued through the state - state employees typically have better healthcare benefits than most other people, it goes a little way to make up for the crap salaries

my old blue cross blue shield with the firm i work for was a lot worse and cost $450 a month just for me

please don't let me get on my high horse about healthcare - its my major pet peeve about living here

i've spent 30 min already on the phone with BCBS today about a claim in june for a sprained hand

220 bill

bcbs are only saying they will pay $23

WTF!

bbb1969

OK so if we put everything to one side, what health care company offers the best service and price?

Manc

NHS

bbb1969

[QUOTE=Manc]NHS[/

NHS or IRS

BritGuyTN

[QUOTE=bbb1969] Unfortunately as you probably know - the only public healthcare this is available is if you are destitute or elderly

what you probably wern't aware of is that you need to pay the same proportion of national insurance that you paid in the UK over in the USA - its split in two and called medicare and social security

only differnece in the USA is that you recieve no benefit of healthcare for it, unless you fall into one of the above categories

bbb1969

[QUOTE=BritGuyTN] Thanks for the informative information!!!!!!!!!!

Bob

speaking of sprains, BIL sprained his ankle a couple months back playing basketball, quite nasty one too, anyway, went to ER to get it checked, after a couple scans, some pain killers and a dorky ankle strap, the bill came to $5500...

Bob

as an employer, it'll probably cost even more...because place of employment often provides a decent co-pay to the premiums, which you won't have to rely on.

meauxna

lol, they're not *health care* companies, they are insurance companies. "Best" is relative at best.. the one you've got and can afford is often the 'best'.

I'm shopping too. Hoping this thread offers some good leads!

Bob

yup, it's all relative...we did have fairly decent medical here too, but since the merger...well it's not final...the benefits are being changed and made to be a bit shit...well shittier....at least there were two options, pay a hell of a lot more for shite coverage, or don't pay more but have the coverage get worse

but on the plus, they are planning on using the PTO system of the other company, so it'll mean actually having sick days set aside rather than having that come out of the holiday time...oh the joys