TouristTrap

woodsey, you'd be surprised at how many people don't do that because of the cost. 45 Million people don't have health insurance in this country. Many of them are small business people who just can't afford it. That was at the last count. I'm sure that since then many more have lost their healthcare benefits as there are many whose companies have dropped healthcare from their packages as they just can't afford to pay for it anymore.

Like I posted before, I know of 3 people who would be alive today if they lived in the UK.

Most bankruptcies are due to medical bills which people just can't afford to pay, many times even if you have insurance you still can't afford it after a major illness. They changed that a few months ago though. Tough luck if you have a large medical bill. You can't declare bankruptcy due to it.

I live in old age nursing home state. You go to the drugstore and watch the old folk ask if they really need to get that medication as they can only afford to pay for one or two of them. It is very sad.

It is the only thing that truly pisses me off about the US. Everything else is nothing compared to this.

Elvira

So true. A lot of people have policies with a 20% deductible.

A 20% deductible of a major operation (eg bypass surgery) or serious illness (eg Cancer) can amount to a small fortune.

snowbunny

I agree that to live in the US without medical insurance is extremely risky and even with it, one can go bankrupt. This is obviously a situation which needs addressing and it frightens me that I'm not a dual citizen with the right to live in a country with national health care. Many many expats who live here cling to their original citizenship to return in case of illness -- yes there is a waiting period etc but it's better than being stuck here with no money and no care.

With respect to age -- yes, that's looked at in Oz but it's NOT looked at in the US because there is NO points system. You either marry in or get a company transfer. Skill-based visas are harder and harder to come by and they are very temporary and it's much harder to adjust to permanent resident status.

As to the horror stories regarding smoking joints on school buses and blow job parties: this doesn't happen here. HOWEVER, blow jobs have become all the rage due to the huge emphasis on abstinence before marriage. Apparently, to kids, oral sex doesn't count (only penetration does).

OTOH I don't see the kind of binge drinking as is done in the UK. The pressure to drink every night, huge quantities of alcohol is immense. Serial monogamy with a new partner every night or week or month is considered not only normal but in some ways enviable. Now -- again -- not all of the UK is this way and not all teens behave in this way but I know a fair few who do.

Now -- does anyone know the social ills of Australia, or do the kids just go surfing and listen to music on the beach?

woodsey

I appreciate what you're saying I truly do, but going back to the post that I replied too, I don't believe for one minute that in a life and death situation people would hesitate, surely it would be an instant reaction rather than saying "oh, hang on a minute, shall I let them die rather than pay a bill I can't afford" I just think it was an unfair comparison to make given the circumstances, it basically implied 'well they would have died too if they had of been here', that doesn't make it o.k in my mind.

On the flip side, I've been a victim of the cost of drugs in the UK. I suffered for years with migraines before they finally prescribed something that would get rid of them, my doctor freely admitted that they tried other methods (such as giving up coffee ) to get rid of them before prescribing a 'very' expensive drug, he told me that they weren't allowed to prescribe them until people were, I quote "really suffering" when he told me the actual cost I was appalled as they were only 20 quid per tablet and he gave me six.. By this point I'd become so depressed from the frequency and severity of the migraines I ended up suffering from panic attacks, had to have three months of work and ended up on anti-depressants which meant I couldn't take the tablets he prescribed for the migraines because of the risk of a reaction, mainly seizures!
People assume that because the NHS is free that doctors will automatically give you the best treatment available regardless of cost and that is just not true.

woodsey

anal sex is apparantly very popular too for the same reason.. :scared:
I agree about the binge drinking,my daughters friends here would rather go to Starbucks or the local 21 Choices frozen yogurt shop than drink alcohol, her friends back in England would rather get pissed on a bottle of Vodka from the local offie and have to get their stomachs pumped..

Partystar

Yeah, exactly.

We just got medical insurance yesterday, but will try not to use it very much because we just can't afford all the extra costs, we can't even afford the insurance itself! At the end of the day, it's 'in case urgent shit happens' insurance, it's just too scary to not have it when we have a toddler. So we'll just have to make up for it another way. I went for a job interview yesterday, so hopefully that will pan out & we'll get some more money, although I'll never get to spend any time with hubby.

For us, life was definitely better in England. Here I do a part time job (3-6 hours a day) at home (with crap pay) at the same time as looking after my son & now I'll be working nights & weekends. Back in England, I worked part time (30 hours - flexible hours/days from home) & had plenty of money.

Elvira

Woodsey, do you seriously believe that doctors here in the US are free to prescribe what they want to? Have you not heard of drug formularies - 1st tier (generic), 2nd tier (preferred brands) and 3rd-tier (non-preferred brands) - plus all the stuff that requires 'prior authorizartion', requiring patients to have 'failed' cheaper drugs and needing a doctor who can be bothered to fill in pages and pages of paperwork to 'justify' is choice of drug?

At least, in the UK, GPs have a budget within which they are free to prescribe what they feel is in the patient's best interests. As far as migraine is concerned, giving up well documented triggers (such as coffee or cheese etc) obviously makes sense. Why would anyone want to resort to drug therapy without trying to address the root cause first?

As far as only prescribing 6 tablets is concerned: again that makes sense as your doctor had no way of knowing whether these pills would work for you and/or be tolerated. There are no drugs without side effects.

Eskimo

seriously I'd **** it all off if was you and go home - I really would, why continue being unhappy for another few years here before you move to the UK anyway to school your kid ?

Sarah

Can't remember which station exactly, I think it was NPR radio station, I was listening to at the time, they said that when people were rescued off the tops of their houses during Hurricane Katrina, a lot of people asked the helicopter guy that was being winched down to airlift them, if they would have to pay for being rescued. Apparently another woman, said she didn't think she could get on the helicopter because she didn't have a ticket.
Very, very sad state of affairs.

Partystar

I think you misunderstood my post. I was simply saying that some people here think twice about calling an ambulance because of the cost (the cost always factors in my mind when I think about taking my son to the doctor & that's just it, it shouldn't be a factor, but the truth is, it is a major factor). Following on from that, yes, it could have still had the same outcome if the ambulance had arrived, whether here or in England. I'm not sure how you think I was saying that he WOULD have died anyway because of that? Everyone knows that a person survival chances are partly based on response/treatment time. I was just stating that I don't think the NHS could have been blamed for that.

Partystar

Seriously, I think the same thing every day, I really hate it here & can't wait for the day when I get to go home. The fact is, I promised my husband (the love of my life) that I would give it a few years. He wants to finish his college courses & graduate from the fire academy before we go anywhere else. Then when we go back to England, he might have a better chance at becoming a fireman there.

Jerseygirl

[QUOTE=Elvira] As far as migraine is concerned, giving up well documented triggers (such as coffee or cheese etc) obviously makes sense. Why would anyone want to resort to drug therapy without trying to address the root cause first?

I too suffered from migraine for yrs before I was prescribed a new drug. For most women migraines are triggered by the mentrual cycle and not food.

I cannot obtain these meds in the US although it is made just a couple of miles away from where I live. I have to go to the UK where they are now available over the counter.

woodsey

Do you not think I'd tried everything I could to get rid of them, I'd already spent hundreds of pounds having alternative treatments trying to get rid of them. I was in my doctors surgery every flaming week for three sodding years before he gave me those pills. Have you ever had a migraine? If you have you'll know how bad they are, I used to get them on average 3 or 4 days a week, I couldn't function properly, literally..As for not wanting to resort to drug treatment, I would have resorted to having my head severed they were so bad..patients best interests my arse.

Elvira

I am confused now. Are you saying you repeatedly asked for a specific treatment and the doctor refused? Are you referring to Sumatriptan or something similar? If so, where they actually available at the time?

If the answer is yes to all 3, you were clearly dealing with an incompetent and/or uncaring doctor. They exist everywhere. The answer would have been to switch doctors.

NB: This makes interesting reading:
"Some U.S. health insurers are limiting the use of a newer class of migraine drug called triptans that has brought relief to millions of patients who suffer from the debilitating affliction. ..."
http://www.migraines.org/about_media/excite01.htm

Jerseygirl

I agree. No-one who does not suffer from migraines has no idea of the pain and disability. I love it when someone says 'Oh I have a migraine' and I say 'If you had a migraine you would be flat on your back.'