Hi Red,
Thanks v much. I wonder if it'd be worth it to start paying for private insurance over here with Kaiser or maybe BUPA in order to build up a medical history with them, as there is a health 'problem' (not the right word, but you know what I mean) in the family. Although it's riskier, we will be selling house, quitting jobs, etc, making a clean break next spring. So I'm keen to remove as much financial black holes as poss!
We're planning starting all the forms/applications with the US Embassy, next month to give plenty of time. Scary!