A bit of advice, please...

Would anyone be able to give me a simple answer to a pressing problem?

My partner (a US citizen, resident in the US) very much wants to move to London to begin a life with me. The one thing that worries him more than anything, and prevents him from coming, is that he has multiple health problems and would need the assistance of the NHS. (I don't have private health insurance.)

We have both been married before and really don't want to rush into getting married - in fact, we would be much happier not getting married at all. I feel that he should come over for a limited time - say three to six months - and then we can decide what we should do next.

Would it be possible for him to have NHS cover during this time? He is utterly reliant on certain medicines (insulin, heart drugs, diuretics, blood thinners etc) and cannot entertain the possibility of not having help at hand should anything happen to him. (He suffered a second - mild, thank God - heart attack about 10 days ago, although it has not yet been established how much damage it caused.)

The issue of healthcare is the only real thing stopping us being together although he is insisting that I find out all possible scenarios before he will give relocation any further thought. Obviously, he will have to recover properly after his heart attack and we would not consider any action until the spring at least.

Any information will be very gratefully received.

Fifi

I'm just guessing off the top of my head here that as a tourist he may not be eligible for NHS care.  ALTHOUGH, I remember someone at my doctor's office asking me once if my registration was a "temporary" registration.  What that meant, no clue.   Some of the other folks may have a better clue than I on this one.

Does your partner currently have health insurance himself in some capacity?  A suggestion would be to have your partner check with his current health insurance or care plan and see if they will cover medical care in a foreign country or if that's an option he can request while he is travelling abroad.  

Hope it works out for you both!

Hi fifi
Here’s what I just found out. . . (long answer! Skip to the end if you want to get to the bottom line quickly!!!)
My daughter has been in the hospital for over a week now. When we checked her into the hospital here in town, no one asked any questions – she was admitted and treated extremely well. Then, it was determined that she had to be transferred to another hospital in another city nearby so that specialists could perform the surgery, which was yesterday. The day of the transfer, someone came into her room and asked if we had been in the country for the past 12 months. (guess our accent gave us away!)  Because the answer was no, they sent in a lady from the NHS. Well actually two rather intimidating ladies! They were trying to determine Jessica’s eligibility for coverage. Of course I was semi freaking out and she handed me an eligibility brochure to read while they did their investigation, etc. The next day I had to show her passport with her FLR visa. AND, after reading through the brochure I found that there was a list of circumstances/people that could receive NHS coverage, however, the only category we fell into was that we were living here permanently – not just visiting on a visitor’s visa, which is what I gather your sweetie will be travelling here under.
Hope that helps a little. Check out the NHS website, there may be more there to read about.
Good luck!
Melissa

I believe if your partner were to visit you on a tourist visa and for some reason or another needed medical attention in an emergency situation then yes......the NHS would see to his needs. However ...if he was to seek medical care for a non-emergency type pre-existing condition such as what you've described above I don't think they would. I do agree with elle, most U.S insurance plans cover their members overseas and he should check with his as to their specific policy. I know last year around August time the NHS was scrambling like mad to restructure their policies after a huge kick-up about non-residents travelling to the U.K specifically for medical treatment.

Actually, it depends on the individual surgery/gp.  If you speak to the practice manager and the gp/partners agree to see him than he will be covered, although I'm not sure how hospitals deal with this issue (i work at at doctor's office and just happened to be reading a notice concerning coverage for non-residents).

Dear everyone

Thank you very much for your responses. I'll have to speak to my GP and see how the land lies. Fingers crossed.

Not only do I not have private health insurance, neither does my partner. He's currently a recipient of Medicaid, as he was made redundant after his first heart attack and has not been gainfully employed since. He's living with his mother and has not received any benefits other than Medicaid - in other words, he's penniless. I would have to be entirely responsible for him, should he come over.

This is why he's unwilling to leave the US; he's clinging to his healthcare benefits and is loath to endanger them.

Once again, thank you all very much for your input. Should anyone have any more information, please do let me know.

Fifi