[MERGED]Moving for the NHS; Opinions and Advise(Sicko Movie)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2101547,00.html

This scares me so much as we are potentially going to the US next year if DH gets a job there.

I hear you, balmerhon.  Horrible as those examples are, it is no surprise to me.  It's one of many reasons why I am so grateful to be living here with my partner.

This resonates with me very strongly right now. The health care in the US is normally very good, but the cost is so astronomical.

I have insurance through work. I pay a small percentage of my premium, and then a larger percentage for the rest of the family. I pay out nearly $5000 a year just for coverage. Each of us has a deductible that must be met before insurance kicks in. That equals $9000 total for all of us. We have a co-pay set up with our insurance so each doctor office visit is automatically a minimum of $20 for just an ordinary visit. All tests, ER visits and hospital stays are partially paid after the deductible is met. I have very good insurance, but that said, we pay an enourmous amount for care. To give you an idea, the night we took Isabelle to the ER when she was starting to get dehydrated ended up costing us around $1500 after insurance paid part of it. That was for 6 hours in an emergency room and an iv that had to be put in.

My brother has a blood disease, a clotting disorder. He's 22 and disabled due to it. He has been fighting social security for 3 years for benefits as he's unable to work and they keep denying him. He's now had to get a lawyer and they've been in the midst of a court battle over it. Every doctor that has seen him has signed off that he's fully disabled, but the system doesn't care.

He has blood clots in his legs and some of these clots are the size of golf balls. He's been in 4 different hospitals and had multiple surgeries to put in shunts and a filter over his lungs to try and prevent an embolism. If he cuts himself or bumps himself, he can bleed to death very quickly because of the blood thinners he has to take.

His medical bills for his last stint in hospital included an ambulance, 3 weeks in hospital, medication, 3 surgeries and other items and totalled around $300,000. He no longer has health insurance because he's now too old to be on my parents, can't work to get it through employment and with his ongoing battle with social security they are denying him medicare coverage.

It's no wonder such a high percentage of people who end up bankrupt do so because of medical bills.

This is one of the major reasons I don't think we will ever move back to the States. It is barbaric to think that treatment could be refused due to insurance, or lack thereof. 

I do disagree with what that nurse was saying about caring for people without private insurance.  I have never once witnessed a patient getting lesser care because of their insurance status. 

It is also the reason we will never be able to move back to the States, either.

We also have a child with dyspraxia, a developmental disability and a 'pre-existing' condition.

i've been royally screwed by the american system of health care.

my disease is seen as a grey area by insurance providers between medical & dental, and each passes the claims off on the other. either way, neither pay and all of my expenses came out of pocket. i spent $30,000 in two years. and i am actually worse off now than i was when i started treatment.

yay for TMJ. 

I had to apply for bankrupcy - back in the days when you could - due to medical debt after I was struck by an uninsured drunk motorist.  I had no insurance myself at the time as my employer was not obligated to provide it and I could not afford it privately on the $8/hour I was making.

We were paying nearly $600 (or was it $700) a month for my husband's private health insurance right before he moved back.  We decided he should move when he did because we could either pay for insurance for him to wait around until I was ready to go, or we could use the money to get him started looking for jobs/house/etc in the UK. 

We've never been uninsured in the US (and that came with a hefty price tag) and I can still say that I love the US health care system - the choice, the flexibility, the attention.  It's the health insurance systems that is absolutely insane.  I hate them.  I hate that they (the insurance companies) won't pay for things if you don't follow their asinine rules (if you're going to the ER, you must call first and receive permission  ).  I hate that they don't have to pay the same amount as an uninsured patient for the same freaking service/medication/etc.  I hate that if you are a business looking to purchase insurance for your employees you get a nice discount off the price that an individual looking to privately purchase insurance for their family would have to pay. 

I'm convinced that, aside from the high profits expected in the health care industry, insurance and liability are to blame for some of the exorbitant costs.   I used to work for a medical device start-up - the paperwork and extra cost associated with any materials that would be used in our prototypes (which weren't anywhere near the stage that they'd be going into people) was unbelievable.  Same material, same manufacturer - two massively different prices.  All because of fear of law suits. 

I had to apply for bankrupcy - back in the days when you could - due to medical debt .

You can still do this, my dad is looking into it because of the medical bills my mom racked up in the 7 years she had cancer before she died 4 months ago.

For every horror story, there are good stories - of course. My mom had no insurance and was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer 7 years ago and she received phenomenal care, new & progressive treatments, and had the best doctors and facilities. my father is now looking to declare bankruptcy now that she has died (7 years after she was supposed to die, mind you) - but none of us feel anything but love for the medical system. Yes it is expensive. Yes the system is flawed. Yes people get turned down and fall through the cracks and have horrible experiences. But there are also people like my mom - uninsured and dying - who still receive what America has to offer, which is a lot of new therapies, advanced treatments & machinery, etc.

Carrie, you hit the nail on the head. The health CARE system isn't the same as the health INSURANCE system. But I have faith that public awareness of the crimes of greed that the insurance companies are playing right now will bring about a change in the system. I really do.

Having had a rotten stinking experience in England during the birth of my son, and having an amazing glowing experience here in the US with my mom and her cancer, I do tend to stick up for the US way of things. Not because I think it is perfect by any means. But I think it is just as imperfect as the NHS, just in totally different ways.

I've been exceedingly lucky to have good health insurance all my life because my parents are in good jobs with good benefits and I was always on one or both of their plans.  But now that I'm leaving that security by graduating from university, I have to say it is scary as hell to think that my health insurance in the States depends on whether I get a good job or not- especially because I have several pre-existing conditions that must be covered.  The thought of being without health insurance is enough for my feet to remain firmly planted in the UK- love it or hate it, at least you have some sort of security with the NHS.

I do agree with Carrie, though.  The health insurance system sucks, but I have always received excellent medical care in the US.

You can still do this, my dad is looking into it because of the medical bills my mom racked up in the 7 years she had cancer before she died 4 months ago.

It has now become very, very difficult to do this, however, especially for the working poor, who tend not to have health insurance.  :\\\'(

It's a difficult one as one way, many cannot afford it and the other way, many are harmed by it - i.e. misdiagnosis and waiting times.  I hope there are reforms in the US to the system.  I do think the care there is far superior, but there is a high cost. That is CERTAINLY an issue.  Perhaps the care here is good in some areas, but in Oxfordshire where we are and we were previously in Gloucestershire, we have had GPs who are not overly capable in diagnoses.  In Gloucestershire, my MIL was misdiagnose several times, leading to a deterioration in her condition, delay in surgery and subsequent blindness.  My husband was nearly crippled due to misdiagnosis in Gloucestershire. 

So, I don't have an answer, but I find what is common to both countries is that if you want good, reliable care, you have to pay steeply for it.

I also believe the NHS is one of the main reasons we'll stay in the UK.  We are a healthy family of 4 & we are lucky enough to have received great health care here in Worcestershire when it was needed.  To me, it's not just the expense but also that fear of the unknown that can happen whenever you move somewhere new (i.e what will the hospital, doctors & nurses be like?).  I love the fact that with the system here in the UK you can choose to use NHS doctors for free if you're under consultant care or you can request to be referred to a private doctor & pay.  That isn't an option in the US. 

I currently live in Dallas and want to move to London.  I am going to try to do this on a work permit but I don't know how easy that is.  How many London employers hire Americans who want to live there?

What are the rules for being on NHS?  That's the biggest reason I want to move to England.  I can't stand the health care system in the States and want out.

It isn't so much the employer, but the government.  The employee needs to be able to show that no one in the UK or wider EU community can do the job that you are applying for.  This is difficult unless you are highly qualified or in an unusual type of job. 

If you did get a work permit you would be covered from day one, however the UK system has a lot of problems with it as well. 

The hospitals here are not like ones at home.  Most do not have private rooms.  There are usually six to ten people in a "room" or ward.  Sometimes the rooms are mixed sex.

They have big issues with MSRA and dirty hospitals.  The food is much worse from my experience.  And if you look around here there can be serious waiting lists and some people aren't even put on lists at all. 

It depends on how you will need to use it and where you live as some places give you medication whereas others won't.