Celsius

Let's see if I understand the OP's predicament.

The wife had the opportunity to get insurance cover but didn't take it. The husband's employer doesn't allow the spouse to get health insurance cover if the spouse's employer offers it.

The OP spouse's didn't take the cover. Poor decision and now they're screwed AND all this time the spouse, the wife is a USC and should be familiar with the US system of healthcare.

Summary: couple made bad choice and is blaming the health system?

Sally

And she's very fussy

Jerseygirl

Yep...she got screwed alright.

ladygwennie

LOL karma for you!

Celsius

True Freudian slip, honest!

Sally

Angelman, you weren't responsible for bulls with udders were you?

Kate2112

Jobs are 10 a penny. She could drop her job at about the 6 month mark and put her back on your insurance. Though do they have a clause about pre exisiting conditions and do they apply to pregancy. Can she afford to be fussy? if she can then thats fine if not get on with it there are plenty of decent doctors.

Had she decided she was going back to work shortly after having the baby? Think about it she might decide to be a stay at home Mum for a few years in which case whyhencethehoha about a teaching job?

If you have been married for 4 years or more you can apply for your wife to have Indefinate Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK. This is a spousal visa for her to live with you in the UK. If that should be your option to get NHS pregancy care/ Baby birth then frankly I think your very good job(s) must pay peanuts to be considering this amount of hassle ???

Good luck, whatever you decide.

angelman

No I was not responsible for bulls with udders thank god but I will be responsible for flushing rats down the sewer and have been known to fiddle with crazy rabid squirrels Now you all know where I work or will do soon anyway.

I am suprised at the responses though.. they seem ery typically american and sort of defeatist. Like if you dont like well tough...

Dropping her job maybe the best option we shall see... most of the issues are actualyl mine or a more philosophical nature as opposed to really practical. Sure we are not going be run out of house and home on this one. I just find it unbelivable that people put up with such a crappy system. Even when you are fully insured it doesnt seem to stop them trying to extract more cash from you all the time. As far as I can see these big medical companies are practicalyl criminal organisations. The hide important details in small print, they charge you for all kinds of things you don't expect. Woe betide anyone that forgets their insurance card when going to ER or something. we are still fighting the insurance company and hospital for something that happened a year ago. We informed the hospital of my insurance details. They claim they didnt have them even though it clearly states my insurance details on some of the letters they sent. Turns out there are different billing companies and it is my responsibility to magically know about them all and tell them all. The lack of any centralised data bank with all my details really screws things up it seems to me. Kind of like banks I suppose which are also totally crap here.. but at least with banks they dont have your life in their hands...
I'll go and look for a shoulder to cry on somewhere else

VictoriaHoward

Hi if you send your wife to the UK it wil make it harder for you if your child or you wants to become american. Think about the child, my guy livied with his family in the USA for ten years when he hit 21 he wanted to stay and has to go through a visa nightmare. It costs $4,000+ to have a child in hospital. I knwo a lot of people who have to go home to have their children, rember you wont be able to see your wife a long time, She cant fly after she is 6 months gone. I wont for the NPS< I was sne there by a Bristish Uni, in 6 months for a minor complaint I have $1,500 of medical bills and I have found out the insurance I purchased, because Uni and the NPS told me to by that insurance wont cover it.

Partystar

That's why I said 'moves'!

Partystar

Anyone can be seen at an A&E under the NHS, regardless of nationality. We would always ask for GP info, but it wasn't necessary to have it to be seen. Everything (other than A&E visits) requires a referral from a GP, so you would need one to be seen by a specialist.

snowbunny

I have. It's actually pretty slimey, but it works. You offer your employees a great plan to keep them happy (and more importantly, healthy and at work). You offer their spouse insurance, BUT since you are offering a great plan, the spouse is likely to forgo insurance at their own place of employ (if they have one) and take yours.

To discourage this additional expense, you insist that the spouse must take insurance offered through their work, even if it's crappier and more expensive. This is seen as an issue of "fairness" so that the company can cover spouses who otherwise have no insurance cover available to them. It favours having stay-at-home wives, in reality, having worked for companies like this.

This is not an extremely common occurrence but it does happen. However, you usually don't hear about it being in effect until you file a claim on the "good" insurance plan and receive the letter asking if the spouse has insurance elsewhere.

To the OP: does your wife's plan have an open enrolment date coming up soon? If so, she ought to be able to get onto the plan which crap as it may be, is better than nothing.

snowbunny

It is considered an emergency and once in active labour a woman cannot be turned away. The rest of us pay for it through higher costs charged to patients who can pay.

Of course, having had no prenatal care means that these women show up at the ER with a higher-risk delivery ahead of them.

scrubbedexpat099

Or charge the non subsidised cost if you want to add a Spouse.

Its all a question of programme design, how much you wamnt to spend and where you want to spend it.

Jerseygirl

That's just it I don't think the OP wants to spend anything.