lenswipe

So, as a resident of the USA, but still a UK citizen, what's the situation regarding health insurance whilst visiting the UK?

Would I need to purchase separate health insurance for myself? What about my spouse? Are either/both of us covered under the NHS?

Bear in mind - that my parents still live in the UK and we would be staying with them during our visit. So we'd still have an address to quote if necessary. Not sure if that matters or not..

SanDiegogirl

As you are no longer resident in the UK, you would only be covered for treatment in an emergency - outpatients, stabilisation. Not for hospitalisation Similarly for your spouse whether she be a non Brit or a Brit.

You should acquire medical cover in your travel insurance.

lenswipe

Cool. It's purely academic at this point because I don't have a gc right now. But I found myself wondering and this seemed like a good place to ask.

GeoffM

Check with your US health insurance. Some cover abroad for "free" (probably because it's cheaper for them for you to be out of the country in cheaper hospitals/etc).

yellowroom

This - my US health insurance was valid in all countries, not just the US. In an emergency, you would access treatment as you would if you'd travelled to another part of the UK and the NHS would look after you as normal - the difference being you should expect a bill afterwards. In the past it has been reported here and in other places that no bill was forthcoming for "minor" treatment in certain areas as it wasn't worth the while to do the paperwork. Things such as seeing a GP for an illness requiring a prescription, like an ear infection, or a minor injury like a cut requiring cleaning and stitching. However, given the focus these days on Health Tourism I think that loophole has gone.

What your US health insurance won't cover is repatriation costs - so if you have a major accident or illness and require specialised assistance to return to the US. This can cost a lot - there are US companies that do travel insurance policies though, so worth checking out when needed.

Jerseygirl

Our US health insurance covered us for repatriation. I was admitted to hospital for 5 days in Canada. Our insurance asked if we were satisfied with the treatment and if I wished to be repatriated.

The OP should be aware that any medical bills will probably have to be settled before leaving the medical premises. My bill was for over $30K...my husband scanned the bill and sent it to our US insurers. The full amount was refunded and in our bank account within 7 days.

yellowroom

Including medi-vac flights and paying for family to accompany you? That's a good policy!

Jerseygirl

Not sure about being accompanied by a family member.

The only grey area was they wouldn’t commit to saying yes to being airlifted from a cruise ship.