ladygwennie

No clue about the OP's wife. Best advice i can give for her is to get her on some form of INS here ASAP. May well have to pay out of pocket, but will be cheaper than paying straight up for the care.

Who knows what is checked and what isnt on the NHS, i know couple of times they haven't asked questions (not that there would have been a problem) but they were emergency room issues so no clue

Anytime i have been in hospital it has been from a referral from my GP and subsequent specialists, so haven't really had to think about it.

Jerseygirl

I wouldn't like to be in hospital and try to talk my way out of not having a past, present or future GP. If she's not a UK citizen she shouldn't be even considering going there just to use the NHS...but of course she may be and may have paid into the system too.

angelman

well thats a good question.. I dont have any idea
I kind of assumed that her being my wife would allow her to live in the UK with me.. but I am probably hopelessly wrong

ladygwennie

Oh i don't disagree, i just know of emergency instances where nothing has been asked at all, but they were emergency instances. Personally if/when i get pregnant i would not want to take any chance anyway. Plus you want to find one person to go back to and with whom you feel comfortable (at least i would lol).

Jerseygirl

What....you just can't decide to live in any country you wish....let alone use services provided by tax payers. There are hoops to jump through first. How did you come to be here...visa, GC, etc.

gruffbrown

Couldn't she have it on the plane? The Pilot could ask if there's a Doctor on board and Bob's your Uncle, POP, Transatlantic Baby born for Gratis.

Jerseygirl

You never told me that you were related to Bob...or do you mean I am?

gruffbrown

He's my Auntie.

Jerseygirl

Mmm Auntie Bob...its got a nice ring to it.

gruffbrown

I wonder if Virgin give you a 100 quid voucher if your waters break on a flight, like M&S?

Jerseygirl

Are you saying that if you drop a bottle of water in M & S and it breaks they give you 100 quid? How much for a bottle of vino then?

ladygwennie

You get a 100 quid voucher for breaking water in M&S?

gruffbrown

Noooo, I mean a flood of Amniotic Fluid in the Knicker Department of M&S used to get you a 100 quid gift certificate, or is that urban myth?

Jerseygirl

Now why would anyone want to keep ammo in their knickers Gruff? There's plenty of other places to hide it.

angelman

yes i know its all very funny.. however seriously its just such a screwed up system here especialyl when you are used to the nhs.
the insurance companies seem to try to rip you off as much as possible. no other industry would be allowed such opaque pricing, rules etc. etc.
Our problem is that we are falling through the holes. The only solution it seems is for my wife to quit her very good teaching job in order to get in on my insurance again. The idea of going to the Uk for the baby is just one of desperation really. How we both get to live in the UK is a question for another time.. or a search on the forum later

I hear such horror stories such as if your doctor isnt available at some crucial point another doctor might step in except he might be under some other insurance scheme not covered by yours so you have to pay, except that you may never know what the hell insurance the doctor uses anyway and you arent going to ask during giving birth!

The problem is my wife has an excellent doctor that she really trusts etc. except now over night she will have to start again if she goes with the crappy insurance her work provides. We will be paying $1000's for this baby unless she quits her job. What kind of country forces someone to quit their job in order to get fair medical attention..
I think Americans just dont realise how the other half live. I never want to hear anyone moan about the NHS again!