moving to UK with multiple sclerosis?

I'm moving to London with husband who has MS (relapsing-remitting), and we're trying to learn as much as we can now about the health system. So I hope you'll forgive the onslaught of questions!

It looks like my husband will be transferring to the London office of his US company, where he has insurance. Will he have to disclose his condition to get private insurance coverage in the UK (and can he get it then)? Does he need or want private insurance for MS?  If you have private insurance, do you choose your own specialists (neurologists in his case)? If you have private insurance, does it cover prescriptions, with a co-payment?  Or does the NHS cover prescriptions even if you have private?  The prescribed drug treatments for MS, as maybe you know, are hideously expensive in the States.
I'd love to hear any stories, advice, etc. Thanks!

It looks like my husband will be transferring to the London office of his US company, where he has insurance. Will he have to disclose his condition to get private insurance coverage in the UK (and can he get it then)?

Yes, he'll need to disclose pre-existing conditions to get private insurance.  You'll find it works differently here in that some private insurance plans do not cover certain conditions at all.

You will also find that, aside from being hideously expensive, many drug treatments for this condition are not available in teh UK at all - they may not be licensed for use here or are just too expensive for the NHS to provide.  This is getting to be an issue as treatments come on the horizon.

You are wise to do much research into this before making a move.

Hope someone with more knowledge comes along.

I'd suggest you contact these guys:  www.mssociety.org.uk/

I have several friends in the UK who have MS, and treatment is varied dependent on where in the UK you are and what treatments are offered by you local health authority.

Best of luck.

Vicky

My husband has MS.  A neurologist handles his case and there is usually a  group of MS nurses that will be his main contact in case of relapse or other treatments.  My husband also takes LDN (low dose naltrexone) and gets that prescription through our local surgery.

General treatments here are steroids for relapses.  With relapsing-remitting, he may be eligible for DMT (disease modifying therapy) which my husband is on the list for but chose not to do - shots into the hip are not his preference. The LDN is a better choice for him because it helps his day to day symptoms.

Any info can be found with the MS Society or the MS Trust.  Both very helpful.

~BEG

Thanks very much for your answers. It sounds as if we'll really have to do some research on where we want to live, if health care varies by area in this way.