Patrick

There is a thread running at the moment about how to cheat the NHS system and I was just wondering how many ex-pats get travel insurance when they travel home?

I hadn't really thought about it before but as an ex-pat you are not automatically entitled to free health care so do you buy insurance. I suppose it is easy to think you don't need insurance because in your head you are going home and at home health care has always been free!

Just wondering if people (who have been home or are planning a trip home soon) have either bought it or have not considered it (for the reason above and not for any other reason)

Patrick

lins77

I was under the impression from looking into Health Insurance here recently, that your insurance in the US covers you for when you are overseas too. I don't actually have health insurance yet so I don't know for sure how it works on policies though.

Also, would you get charged by the NHS for emergency care if you were on holiday there and needed treatment? I've never heard of this happening to anyone.

I'm going home for a trip in 3 weeks and it has crossed my mind to get insurance but I was thinking more about my baggage etc to be honest.

Lindsey

Yorkieabroad

Patrick,
I've never bought cover in the past when going back to the UK, (as on the other thread, I was under the impression, wrongly as it turns out, that as I was paying my NI I was covered). However I've checked my old PPP policy, and that would have covered me as it turns out. My new US policy will NOT cover me out of the USA. I tried to get insurance last trip round as we were going to Spain as well, but couldn't find anything reasonable here - most fo the brokers I spoke to didn't seem to understand the question........I actually started a thread on it, but didn't get any decent recommendations for companies. In the end I bought a policy in the UK to cover the Spain trip.

If anyone knows of US companies that issue decent travel insurance including health cover (not just death cover), loss, theft etc I'd love to hear about them.

Jan Alaska

oooo errrr hadnt really thought of that ! umm yes sure I'll toddle off and see if i can find insurance .... ho hum !

Jan

Englishmum

I don't normally take out travel insurance when I go to the UK; we tend to take our camera/camcorder etc. as cabin baggage, and I think these are covered under our house insurance (although the deductions would probably be as much or more than the items are worth!).

I think it's not as easy to find travel insurance in the US as it is in Britain; for a start, most Americans tend to travel domestically so would claim on their normal health insurance in case of medical problems.

Every daily newspaper or magazine in the UK has adverts for travel insurance, as well as Tesco's, the Post Office, every travel agency. I've never noticed this sort of media or other coverage in the US.

I did travel to India early this Summer and then spent a week in the UK on my way back to the States. I spent hours on the internet trying to find suitable travel insurance. The American companies were offering far lower coverage at a higher price and with higher deductibles than a British travel company was offering for travel, no matter where you reside in the world. (Note that most British companies will only cover you if you are actually resident in the UK, but this company listed below covers people of any nationality no matter which country they live in).

Although thankfully I didn't need to make a claim, I did buy my travel insurance online with:

http://www.worldwidetravelinsurance.com

It cost me 66 UK pounds for one month for anywhere in the world excluding the US and provided good medical coverage, including evacuation back to the US if necessary.

Englishmum

OOPS - TYPO!!

Please disregard the above link.

The travel insurance company I used is:

http://www.worldwidetravellers.com

PrincessofWales

I still pay UK national insurance via their overseas/non-resident program, it costs me about 6 pounds a month and theoretically should allow me to use the NHS as well as pick up a measly pension when I retire.

Patrick

Sorry to blow your bubble POW, but your NI contributions don't go towards NHS. Its a residence thing as well. Once you stop residing in the UK you are no longer eligible for free NHS cover. Sorry.

Patrick

PrincessofWales

Oh poo, can I still collect my pension from the U.S.?

Yorkieabroad

Yes, that's what my earlier post above referred to - I thought that as well, but apparently its not the case, as Patrick alerted me to.....sounds like you're paying Class 2 or possibly Class 3 voluntary contributions? Pick up NI38 from the Inland Revenue, and it'll show what the NI contributions do actually cover.

I'm still a bit confised though, as a while ago there was some talk on one of these threads about a new law the government was introducing to remove the right of access to NHS services for citizens living overseas. I can't remember who started the thread, and can't find it now - can anyone remember what that was about?

candy wy.

it doesn't cover you for non emergency treatment in the uk. only for your pension entitlement. you should check out the other thread on this subject.

Patrick

yes

Manc

Not neccesarily. Only if they are nicked from your home. Hence homeowners insurance.
To cover individual items you need a personal articles policy.

FL2003

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a retired GP from Southampton and I spend a few months a year in Florida. This question has prompted me to join up and contribute. As the rules currently stand (but remember I have been out of the NHS for a little over 2 years) I believe I am correct in stating that an ex-pat would never be refused treatment. In my 33 years of practice I had many British people who lived abroad and came home on a visit consult with me due to illness. The very ethos of the NHS is that it is free on demand according to need. I believe you will find no GP or hospital would ever turn a fellow Briton away, simply because they live in South Africa, Australia or the USA. What I would do would be to conduct a thorough physical examination, and then add them to my case load as a temporary patient, treat them and prescribe medication. Hospital referrals were rare due to waiting times, but in the event of urgent surgery being required, of course they would be operated upon.

The worry of most contributors should be dispelled. If while in Blighty you fall sick or your child does, please seek medical care. DoH rules are one thing, and believe me they change on a monthly basis, but the reality is, you will be treated and no you won't be billed as the Americans do so. In fact the hospital would simply put you down as being a person of no known address, ie a non-UK one. It is my personal belief and that of many collegues that we under no circumstances become like the USA in healthcare, especially for fellow Britons by making them pay.

I hope my contribution has helped,

Yours sincerely,
Dr. Amar Singh

Englishmum

Oddly enough it says on my NHS medical card (it's really old) that when you intend to leave the UK for more than three months you are supposed to hand in your NHS card to the immigration officer when you leave the UK. They don't have them at departure points anymore - well certainly not at Heathrow! This is because you are still on your GP's books and he or she is still being paid for having you &/or your family as patients!

I get really miffed at those expats who don't notify the Child Benefit Agency that they have left the UK and continue to get CHB for their kids...

(Child Benefit payments are usually paid directly into bank accounts, and those expats who are fraudulently getting the money either still retain their UK house or transfer their address to that of a UK relative).

Another thing which annoyed me was when the Jamaican lady at our local train station who sells newspapers and coffee in the mornings told me that her family and friends often go to England (on the pre-text of visiting family and friends) when they need medical treatment which is unavailable to them in Jamaica. They like it that they can get it free of charge on the NHS. I understand that this NHS tourism is causing a great strain on the NHS, especially in London and the South East, and of course the local residents get pushed further back in the queue.