health care/insurance for visitor to the UK

Wondering if any one can advise or has experience of health care for a US visitor to the UK.

My friend will be here for 6 months.

Would it be better to obtain travel/holiday insurance in the US? They looked at one policy that was $34 for 30 days then $5 everyday there after 

Is there some form of insurance cover here for people in this country that are not eligable for NHS care?

Thanks

For my recent trip to the UK I purchased travel insurance from STA Travel, which seemed to have decent medical coverage.  For a 6 month trip, travel insurance from STA would cost $390.  I'm not sure if there's an age requirement/limit or not, but I don't think there is.

Wondering if any one can advise or has experience of health care for a US visitor to the UK.

My friend will be here for 6 months.

Would it be better to obtain travel/holiday insurance in the US? They looked at one policy that was $34 for 30 days then $5 everyday there after 

Is there some form of insurance cover here for people in this country that are not eligable for NHS care?

Thanks

There are a lot of good travel/holiday insurance companies in the states.  Probablly the best and most solid in my mind is Glabal Travel Shield from American Express: http://www.globaltravelshield.com/

I have used them before and they will specifically tailor to your requirements and do it right around the days you plan to be out of the country, etc.  It is worth a look and they quote right online.  I would say the $5 a day is excessive.  I recently paid about $100 for 21 days in New Zealand that covered travel interruption, travel cancellation, lost bags, medical, lost money basically everything.

Thanks Andrea. and kitsonk