cliff1961

Just new to the site, this being my first forum.
I am currently living in Wales, UK.

Over the past few years my Fiance' and i have found it hard to make a decision who is going to move where.

Will she move to the UK or myself move to Texas, USA. One thing that puts me off moving is the High cost of health Insurance in USA.

Anyone from UK made this decision and moved and what was their final conclusion ?

Anyone have any advice i would greatly appreciate it!

Jerseygirl

As this forum is for welcoming new members to BE I am moving this thread to the US Forum.

lansbury

It isn't the cost that should be a factor in the decision, but can you afford to pay for it.

I don't know what the percentages are but I think the majority get some form of health cover as part of their salary package. Some get 100% cover, but most have to make some sort of contribution towards it. The contribution, either up front and/or at the point of service differs by what the employer offers.

Some of us either are retired, or self employed, and fund our health cover from our own pocket.

Whichever fits your own circumstances, can you afford the cost of health cover to you. If you can't stay in the UK, being here without health cover is tempting a disaster to happen and can easily bankrupt you.

SanDiegogirl

Hubby and I moved from the UK (from near Cardiff originally) to California, but we had jobs to go to and therefore health cover through our employers.

We would not have moved had we not had these two factors in place.

Individual health cover is both expensive and a "lottery". There is no guarantee (unless you are a child under 18 under the new rules) that you will be offered cover by any insurance company.

Volt61

These were my concerns as I have a chronic condition and cannot be without medicine.
Private health insurance for an individual with pre-existing conditions is astronomically high in the USA (more than 3/4 of my monthly salary) & therefore, not feasible.

When I first came to the USA, neither I nor my spouse were able to find work and eventually, I found a charity that gave me free medicine & other health services, which was an absolute life saver.
There are such charities/programs all over the USA and in addition, pharmaceutical companies can put you in touch with various programs that provide very low cost or free medicine and other health care services to you and your spouse if required.

Most people have a health plan through their employer and if you find a job with a reasonably sized company (500 employees or more) their health plans should be affordable for most people and not too dissimilar to what you pay in NI contributions now.

My plan costs me and my spouse about $130 a month.
We then pay $20 for any GP or other medical-based visit.
We also pay a contribution for medicine, which is between $10-25 for 30 days supply depending on the medicine, but you can get some medicine cheaper by shopping around and choosing generics wherever possible.


PM me if you want and I will dig up the info I found.

I cannot guarantee this but I don't think you would be refused medicine if you were in critical need and some medically qualified person knew this.

meauxna

My husband did. He's enjoying living in the US very much.
But, we live in a special part of the country. Then again, he's the kind of guy who would be happy most anywhere he decided to be.

What's your field of work, cliff?
If you're self -employed, think very hard about Miss US moving to the UK.
If you're in a field where the employer normally provides group health insurance, and you like the US, or your GF has the better job.. well, there's really too many variables and we don't know much about you yet (or her).

Jerseygirl

As you say it all depends on individual circumstances...too many variables. My husband transferred with his company...healthcare cover from day one and everything was covered. 15 years later he opted for early retirement and we both have healthcare cover via the company...although I accept this is not the norm.

Bob

All depends on your job prospects I guess...what kind of work you do, might help with recommendations

Oh and welcome to BE and congrats!

cliff1961

Hi,

My main concern is i have been diagnosed with Epilepsy all my life but is very well under control now. but the main problem is a lack of knowledge everyone think a person with epilepsy suffers the same but this is not true, there are over 40 different forms of epilepsy and everyone gets tarred with the same brush. Many employers may not even give you the opportunity / chance to show them the capabilities you have in working.

This worries me that i could make a move and no one will employ me so i am thinking of working from home and make my way up.

Sally Redux

Will you be able to get added to your spouse's health insurance? If not, this could be a problem.

cliff1961

I can be added to my Fiance's health insurance, this solves a problem but i still have to bring Finance' in myself.
here near Dallas in texas there is no public transport so i have to try and get a driving license, over in UK you have to be seizure free for 1 year therefore i have never had a car always relied on public transport.

Sally Redux

Not quite following you, are you saying she doesn't drive?

Noorah101

Bring her in where?

You might want to browse around over in the US Marriage-Based Immigration forum also, tons of UK peeps there who have made the move to the USA via marriage to a USC.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forum...aysprune=&f=35

Rene

avanutria

I may be mistaken, but my understanding is that you are not required to inform your prospective employer that you have epilepsy. An exception might be if you are applying for a job that your epilepsy will interfere with, but if it's under control that shouldn't be a problem.

Volt61

I think Cliff means Finance not Fiance?