rumatumtum

Thanks Boiler and Swisstony


I was curious about insurance plans such as the one's listed on

http://www.usnetcare.com/

Just to clarify

We have no intention of being in the US without medical insurance

We have money to pay the insurance

In the UK the NHS is available should it be required on our return visits and at the end of the stay. I'm afraid thats the way it is, it doesn't barr Brits because they have worked abroad for a short period. My op may have sounded like I mean't NHS was valid in the US, sorry if it read that way.

My question was about the specific type of cover for our status

Thanks again but I have plenty of info to go on and will no doubt have my plan in place over the next few days.

Sorry I asked!

lisa67

I hope you get the info you need and that the move goes well.
I was genuinley concerned about your situation which is why I replied as I did. Glad to see you have your finger on the pulse of things. If you find out any more info about short term health insurance that you think might benefit others that read these boards please post it

scrubbedexpat099

Low limits, limited cover, fine maybe if nothing nasty happens.

Bill_S

I agree. I'm more concerned about the OP's two young children. I have co-workers with young children, and they have a lot of interaction with the health care system. If one of the kids gets seriously ill, they're in for a shock with minimal cover.

To the OP, I have good insurance through my employer. I just checked the current price sheets, and the total cost for my plan, assuming family coverage, is over $1500 per month. That's a negotiated group rate, large employer. If you walked into that insurer's office and wanted to buy individual-rate coverage for your family, it would cost much more than that. Good luck.

naomi

The type of plans you will be looking for are Individual and Family plans. Try looking through E-Health Insurance, you can get online quotes based on where you live, number of family members etc.
http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/indi...alth-insurance

This Web site is pretty good, you can compare costs side-by-side, and I think you can start the application process online. I would not recommend a catastrophic type plan if you have young children (the monthly rates will be cheaper for those types of plans, but they really are just for emergency type care, and you can still pay a lot out of pocket).
Naomi.

Bob

I think you do need to take note of the "bloody mental" posts because medical insurance is such a massive thing.

For the company to not offer it, regardless of how good the salary is is usually a deal breaker.

Especially when you have kids...vaccinations aren't cheap, neither is a broken leg and you won't be able to hop back over to the UK for that and the NHS will only treat emergency care unless you reside back in the UK and you can't count on them not bothering to care these days as they do seem to check a lot more than in the past.

Premiums will easily be $1500 a month plus for healthy, young people add kids to the mix.

Edit: to add...if he's upper management...how much else are the company screwing him if they aren't offering medical? It's the bare bones basic of any rubbish benefits package.

y2b4sure

I'm not sure if I've understood your post correctly, but my understanding is that medical insurance premium costs CAN be deducted if not paid by the employer. It is subject to a calculation based on income though...

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc502.html

http://www.myoptumhealth.com/portal/...e&clicked=true

Flabound oneday

out of interest -at what point do you lose eligibility to free treatemnt on the NHS ? having paid NI and taxes for 35 years surely there is some time span -after all certain europeans seem to be entitled to it without putting in a penny

christmasoompa

When you are no longer deemed to be resident in the UK. Some people have had success using it upon their return without being queried (usually those that have kept their NHS doctor/dentist, taking space from another that might genuinely need it, grrrrr!), but others have had to provide proof that they live there.

And I'd query other nationalities being able to use it without a problem - on a visit to A&E last year we saw a foreigner (I'd guess he was Spanish, but not sure) being issued a large bill as he couldn't produce the proof that he was resident in the UK as they'd asked.

Unfortunately, that tax and NI doesn't count for anything once you choose to go and live in another country, same with university fees etc.

Flabound oneday

lucky i never went to uni then !! I thought/think the EEc has a reciprocal arrangement (isnt it called E111 -they have numbers for everything) whereby any EEC citizen (funny I thought i was British) can get free treatment in any other EU country.

looking at the NHS web site you lose eligibility after 3 months of non permanent residence but requalify when you go back as a PR (hello I'm poorly i have come back )

christmasoompa

As long as you've not got kids that might want to return to the UK to go to uni - they'd have to pay international rates after being out of the UK for a certain amount of time, despite being British citizens.

No such thing as the E111 anymore. There is the EHIC card, but that doesn't cover you for everything. From the EHIC website "few countries pay the full cost of healthcare for holders of the Card". It entitles you to treatment (in a public hospital, not private), but you can still be required to pay for some or all of that treatment.

That sounds about right. Just be prepared to prove you've actually moved back (utility bills, rental agreement etc) if you require NHS treatment on your return.

Flabound oneday

1. daughters already at Uni so thats ok
2.yea saw the e111 had gone but couldnt find its replacement , i guess its one of these pot luck things,but i do know there has been a huge fuss over residents of some newer EU countries coming to the UK for the 'better free treatment'
3. rental agreement hmmm lucky mummy has a house to rent out

ri_mischief

I've used short term healthcare when I was between jobs...I got it from the link that I posted.

From memory it cost about $200 per month just for one person - BUT this had attached to it a $1000 minimum before I could claim anything. Basically what you had to do was collect all your receipts and send them in then they start paying after the $1000 is reached.

The reason I had it was because the way I saw it it would cover me in the event of a catastrophe (although there was a upper limit) or a instance like a broken leg. I never actually claimed on it because the only thing that I had wrong with me during coverage was a chest infection, treatment of which came under the $1000 level (although it still came to $200)

As a couple of other people have said on here, insurance IS a big issue. That's why there are lots of people past retirement working in the likes of Walmart - it's not necessarily for the salary....it's for the benefits. I'm amazed that your company is not offering medical - it's pretty standard but hey - lots of people have already said that :-)

Sally Redux

So the UK does have its uses.

Giantaxe

From the IRS link:

That's quite a big hurdle. Plus it's a deduction, not a credit, so it's only worth only however many cents on the dollar your marginal tax rate represents.