Originally Posted by Dillinger

thanks for the insight golden. although an uninsured hospital admitee may not end up bankrupt the payment arrangements will be lifelong on the figure that you have mentioned?

from the sounds of it health care trumps all (to quote another user from another thread) I wouldnt dream of moving the family to the USA and putting their future in jeopardy by not having insurance due to expense (and then paying for it via payment plan for yrs to come) but equally it seems way to expensive (unless employers pay - which wouldnt apply if self employed). not sure where im going with this now... i think what im trying to say is it just sounds unreasonable to pay for health care - probably just me as never really considered it before. Also the lack of time of if employed by company seems pretty low.

Originally Posted by Sally Redux

Presumably you're going to have to pay back a fair bit of that money though.

Originally Posted by Dillinger

Any advice re visa/sponsorship, business, houses is appreciated.

Originally Posted by goldenstate31

Thats another story that needs its own thread. Put it this way everything I was always led to believe about the US health service and the 'system' and the dangers of not being insured are no longer the same beliefs i had previously .

Originally Posted by goldenstate31

Bankruptcy in very very extremely rare cases. Of the tens of thousands admitted to hospital without insurance my son included. How many times has anybody been bankrupted from a hospital. Most if not nearly all hospitals will accept payment arrsngements. A hospital will only want to go the bankruptcy route if you have tens of thousands of dollars in the bank and are refusing to pay your hospital bills. My theory isnt based on rumors its based on my first hand experience of the usa hospital system. Where our bill so far has exceeded 600, 000 dollar's! !!! And still counting! ! And no our health insurance did not cover hospital stays. Most health insurance companies would like you to believe a hospital will bankrupt you for obvious reasons but it is mostly not the case.

Originally Posted by Dillinger

Hi All!

Just joined the forum after seeing some good threads re UK to Cali move.

Im also interested in making this move. I have alot of family in USA - Dallas, NYC, and Cali. Reason for the move is to achieve a better lifestyle. So want nice weather and a big house which in the UK is impossible. From looking at house prices on realtor.com (dont know if thats a good site?) they dont seem that bad at all for what you are getting. The area iv been looking in is Fresno - I read someone mention Fresno in another thread and hinted it isnt a great area? For $400k $450k there are some beautifull places for sale, anything similar in London would run into the millions of £.
Thanks

Originally Posted by Cape Blue

Comparing London with Fresno is like comparing NYC with Doncaster.

Originally Posted by Cape Blue

I though medical bills were the #1 cause of personal bankruptcy?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/pf_article_109143.html

Originally Posted by goldenstate31

What statistic from the figure given is voluntary as opposed to being sued in a court for non payment of medical bills?

Originally Posted by goldenstate31

Bankruptcy in very very extremely rare cases. Of the tens of thousands admitted to hospital without insurance my son included. How many times has anybody been bankrupted from a hospital. Most if not nearly all hospitals will accept payment arrsngements. A hospital will only want to go the bankruptcy route if you have tens of thousands of dollars in the bank and are refusing to pay your hospital bills. My theory isnt based on rumors its based on my first hand experience of the usa hospital system. Where our bill so far has exceeded 600, 000 dollar's! !!! And still counting! ! And no our health insurance did not cover hospital stays. Most health insurance companies would like you to believe a hospital will bankrupt you for obvious reasons but it is mostly not the case.

Originally Posted by Giantaxe

That's doing Doncaster a disfavour. I'm hard pressed to think of anywhere in the UK that could be compared to Fresno. Moss Side, maybe.

Originally Posted by goldenstate31

Bankruptcy in very very extremely rare cases. Of the tens of thousands admitted to hospital without insurance my son included. How many times has anybody been bankrupted from a hospital. Most if not nearly all hospitals will accept payment arrsngements. A hospital will only want to go the bankruptcy route if you have tens of thousands of dollars in the bank and are refusing to pay your hospital bills. My theory isnt based on rumors its based on my first hand experience of the usa hospital system. Where our bill so far has exceeded 600, 000 dollar's! !!! And still counting! ! And no our health insurance did not cover hospital stays. Most health insurance companies would like you to believe a hospital will bankrupt you for obvious reasons but it is mostly not the case.

Originally Posted by Poppy girl

Homes are cheap in Fresno due to the fact its a god awful hole and everyone is moving away, it is one of the most violent and dangerous cities in the US..I used to got there weekly on business.