angelman

I have great health insurance here in california apparently. Still stuns me how utterly crap it is. I forgot my health insurance card one day going to a hospital. They HAD to have a hard copy of it, for some reason having it in the computer database was not enough, they just love beurocratic paperwork here I think.
You then sign a multitude of forms filled with small print. Apparently one of them says that you are responsible of informing all billing parties of your health insurance details. What I did not know that there a multiple billing companies all working on ones case, the doctors the hospital, the specialist. Each bill seperately. Months later I get a call from the collections people telling me that i did not pay my bill and I owe $3500! I assumed the hospital would hand my details over to all the people billing me. They did not. Not only that there is not really a way I can find out who is billing me until they send a bill (sent to the wrong address).
Now my wife may have to quit her job as she is pregnant and since her job now offers crappy health insurance that she declined but now my health insurance wont cover her because her job did offer health insurance. Its insanity.
If only more people could come from the uk to check out just how bad this godawful private health care is they would be running home and blesisng the NHS every day!

Does anyone have experience of sending wives back home to have a baby. I heard that they have recently closed the loophole allowing expats to do this.
Do you think my having a flat back home and uk bank accounts could help her be elegible for the nhs and to have her have the baby in england?

Partystar

If she moves back to live in England, she can use the NHS.

angelman

I was reading though how the government is really trying to crack down on this especially pregnant women of expats coming to use the nhs to have the baby for free and then returning back to US. I dont feel bad about using the system in this way since I paid enoguh taxes in Uk and used very little if any of the NHS at all ever. Of course others I am sure take advantage of it.
we are both resident in the UK, she is a US citizen. Could she just say she is married to an englishman, show my mortgage statements maybe if necessary.. perhaps a joint UK bank acount.. or dont they really check, she can just waltz into a hostpital asking to give birth!

cinnabar

Millions of US citizens don't have health insurance, and those same millions have babies in the US.

How does that work?

Is there some kind of third-class cattle truck sort of hospital they go to, where they have their babies on rushes on the floor?

Partystar

Apparently you have to be a resident, although emergency care is available to anyone.

Jerseygirl

....but she has to be a UK resident.

Jerseygirl

I think you have to be pretty destitute to qualify for free healthcare. Don't know about meds.

ladygwennie

How is it proven in the uk, if you just end up in hospital? ive never known the hospitals to really check unless theres a reason to, or maybe im just way behind in the times lol

angelman

there is medicare for those that qualify but i certainly dont. There are some cattle truck hospitals which resemble the worst that london offers. Believe me I have been there and you do not want to have your baby there.
Tip for everyone: If youre caught out without insurance and have an emergency you can at least in la for example go to one of 2 public hospitals (UCLA or Olive Vista) and be seen there. YOu have to pay $80 for temporary insurance which covers everything. However we spent 2 days there in ER waiting for people to see my wife. There were operations being performed in the hallway - a particularly gruesome one of some guys his jaw was being removed and reset or something, numerous gun shot wounds etc.

Sue

The BBC are going to be doing a programme on this very subject soon .. http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=390718

Englishmum

How far along is your wife in her pregnancy? After a certain number of weeks she won't be allowed to fly.

I doubt that your wife would be charged anything by the NHS if she states that she is taking up residence there. On the other hand, you would be missing out on going with her for the pre-natal check ups, birth and parenting classes etc. unless you're planning to accompany your wife to the UK?

However, in the UK of course the new mum gets home visits from a midwife for the first week after delivery and also from a health visitor.....such a pity they don't offer this in the US.

You might want to check out the health/pregnancy forums on the website for expat Americans in the UK:

Some info on eligibility here:

http://www.uk-yankee.com/ukinfo/health.php

Forums here include 1 board for pregnancy and another for healthcare and insurance - just scroll down:

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/

Jerseygirl

For a start your GP's name and address. As far as I am aware any treatment has to be reported back to your GP in the UK.

angelman

I dont have a GP.. havent had one for many years even when i was resident

ladygwennie

I know a few people who don't have a fixed GP for whatever reason and have had to go to hospital and were never asked anything lol, don't knowif it was just a lapse in the system or procedure.

Jerseygirl

I really dunno....its not something I'd try to get away with but I know people do. I just wouldn't feel comfortable doing something like that.

A neighbour of mine used to work for the NHS...he always used to tick the back of the prescriptions so he didn't have to pay for meds. Said he knew for a fact they didn't check who were entitled to free meds. That was about 15 yrs ago.

Do we know if the OP's wife is entitled to even live in the UK?