John Nada

Hi all,

Probably a dumb question, but I'm living in the USA now after getting married, all legal and above board e.t.c. However, before getting any kind of health insurance, I was wondering if seeing as I'm still a UK citizen can I get subsidized by the NHS over here should I need any treatment?

I know for travelling you need travel insurance but I was kind of hoping it'd be different for permanent residents.

Cheers

ian-mstm

No, but you can use continuous NHS coverage to demonstrate the same to a US health insurance company.

Ian

Bob

Sorry, but welcome to BE

Can only use the NHS in the UK if you are a UK resident, other wise it is just emergency care on the NHS whilst visiting the UK.

They couldn't care about you if you aren't resident, plus it's paid for mostly from general taxation and is a residency thing, not a citizenship thing.

Duncan Roberts

Assuming the US insurance is got within 63 days.

John Nada

Cheers for the reply, but I'm not too sure I know what you mean by that?

Thanks

Jerseygirl

If you have an ongoing medical condition you may need to prove to your healthcare insurance company that you have received previous cover/treatment for the condition...NHS cover is acceptable.

I assume from your post that you have not got US healthcare insurance. I will never understand why anyone would come to live here without healthcare insurance.

John Nada

Ok thanks for the info. Well when I initially came over I had travel insurance, and that has not long run out. I recently got permission to work so I'm enquiring because, ideally, I would like to wait to get a job that covers it rather than pay for my own outright. I see I have no choice though, thanks once again.

Jerseygirl

I know it's easy for us to take free healthcare at the point of service for granted but it's really something that should be researched very carefully before one moves to the US.

There is information about the mine field that is US healthcare in the BE Wiki. There is dozens if not hundreds of past threads on the subject. There is a Search Function...the tab is located in the pink bar at the top of the page. Go to 'Advance Search'....search thread titles over for US healthcare etc.

SanDiegogirl

...... but there is always the danger that, unless you get Group Insurance with a company, you will be turned down for an Individual Health Policy because of pre-conditions (and each Health Insurance company has their own definition of pre-conditions). So, ideally one would get a job and have decent health cover but one COULD end up without anything at all

clarissageo

And its very expensive - we're in the position right now where DH is probably going to get laid off, which means we will lose our awesome coverage (90% with a $250 deductible that we've already more than met, orthodontic insurance of $2500, vision and prescription benefits)..... .we only pay $254 a month right now to cover 7 of us, and DH has LOADS of pre-existings, DS has NVLD and Psoriasis, and other DS is 2 weeks away from going into braces

I found out today that to get COBRA is going to be over $1000 a month, and looking at buying personal coverage, without all the dental and vision is going to be around the same, with a whole new deductible to meet, most of which are in the region of $5000.

Needless to say, we are pooping our pants right now, and praying for a miracle. He may have to take a MUCH lower paid, part time job with the same company which after insurance and child support payments will give him about $60 a check, but at least we'll keep the insurance

sinbad2222

Yes medical treatment is a nightmare in the USA for the following reasons :
1 Doctors and surgeons can make $2 million a year.
2 Insurance companies make huge profits with multitimillion dollar bonuses to executives.
3 Doctors can spend 20% of their time negotiating payments with insurance companies.
4 Doctors are scared stiff of lawsuits so they themselves need expensive insurance which the patient has to pay for ultimately.
5 You have to buy insurance from a company in your state so no competition as the companies get together to fix the rates
6 Many senators and congressmen get big bribes from the insurance companies so Obama will never get a decent European/UK NHS system passed.
By law you are entitled to free emergency tretment in a hospital, after that you are on your own.
Try to get a job with inurance benefits but remember your employer has the whip hand over you and will use it.
If you live in MA the insurance company must take you on despite existing conditions. But MA insurance is about the most expensive in the USA.
Try and get catastrophic insurance. This is illegal in MA but ok elsewhere and will cover you against serious illness. My wife has full insurance and even gets her mouthwash paid for - absolutely ludicrous and another reason for the outrageous premiums.
Like many aspects of American life the health system is way below European standards.

Jerseygirl

I thought free emergency treatment was only free to those who have no means to pay?

penguinsix

You are not entitled to free emergency treatment.

Hospitals must treat you in an emergency situation regardless of your ability to pay. You will get emergency services even if you are poor or totally broke.

However, you will also get a bill. Whether or not they even bill you or this gets paid or your credit rating is destroyed or you declare bankruptcy or whatever is a different matter from actually receiving emergency health care services.

scrubbedexpat091

You will still get billed and depending on situation the hospital may write it off as charity and they do for some, but more likely they send the bill off to collections and you end up with bad credit and a bankruptcy.

I had first hand experience with hospital bills and dealing with trying to negotiate with them regarding the cost, and I had insurance at the time, but insurance company refused to pay.

In the end the easiest and least costly solution was to declare Chapter 7 and go bankrupt, fighting insurance and dealing with the hospital was not worth it, in total i was fighting and negotiating for 2 1/2 years before I went the bankruptcy route.

Barbara1133

NHS applicable here? No such luck. Each time my parents came to visit I insisted upon travel medical insurance. The one time we needed it I thanked my lucky stars. It was 100% coverage. My mother tripped, hit her head on a step, knocked herself out and had a pool of blood around her head. The paramedics came, took her to the emergency room. She had a battery of tests, the wound closed, and because of her age, was kept in overnight. Hospital bill alone was $15,000. Other costs, such as ambulance, MRI/CAT scans, wound care, etc. added about another $5,000. I got bills for everything, even from providers whose names I didn't recognize.

Just recently a friend fell off a step ladder at home and sprained her foot, broke her ankle and did some deep tissue damage. Because the Vicodin she was given for the pain made her ill when she got home, she ended up back in hospital for two nights, with every test imaginable being run. She knew it was the vicodin that caused the trouble, but the hospital staff paid no attention. She got her bill the other day - $37,000. Luckily, she is insured through her job, but has no idea how much she is going to have to pay by way of deductibles/copayments.

A co-worker's son has lost his home because he had a heart attack while he was waiting for his new insurance to kick in. Costs: more than $125,000.

Don't knock the NHS!!! And NEVER EVER come to the USA without medical insurance. Even a bout of food poisoning could set you back thousands.