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

Because if I lost that good insurance in the US for whatever reason, I'd be screwed if something happened

You'd also get saddled with not-insignificant amounts of debt for your 'co-pay' or your 'share'/percentage of the care that your insurance didn't cover. 

Not to mention, if your insurance denied your treatment for one reason or another.

And then there's all the fun phone calls and harrassing letters and debt collectors from the healthcare provider when your insurance holds off on paying up.

Plus, I don't know if someone mentioned this yet, but I've heard its pretty much impossible to declare bankruptcy for medical bills anymore (in the US).

...its pretty much impossible to declare bankruptcy for medical bills anymore (in the US).

Unless you are living below the poverty line in the US (very low income guidelines that may or may not tie in to the actual cost of living of any particular area there), it's pretty much impossible to declare full personal bankruptcy anymore in the US - full stop (whether it's medical bills or other debt, the law doesn't make any distinction between the two).

I am extremely grateful to have the NHS at this point in my life. Granted I am a healthy person, so that probably colours my judgement, but so far, I have received everything I need from the NHS without a problem, and the best part is that it is in NO WAY tied to me staying in a particular job. I spent nearly a year working in the US paying a fortune for private insurance before my employer offered me benefits. It was a competitive field, and people were willing to do whatever it took to break into it. For me it was working effectively as a temp before being put on a permanent contract with benefits. Once I got health insurance, I was scared to leave and give it up, or risk going to another company and having to clear their probationary period before receiving insurance again.

While I did love my doctor in the US, and the comprehensive care and tests I received at yearly check-ups, I am so grateful that I can take this time to do some temping, and take short term contracts to find out what I really want to do career wise, without having to worry about whether or not I'm insured.

When I moved to the states from the UK, everyone warned me to get medical insurance. Beinf uninformed, I pretty much blew that off, as I figured 'sure you may have to pay for treatment, but it wouldnt be expensive- they wouldnt make stuff expensive else people wouldnt be able to afford it' HA, oh my naivety!! 

LUCKILY I never needed any medical treatment during my year of no insurance. When I met and married my US DH, I was covered on his very good union insurance- we are very fortunate that this covered the birth of our daughter as the very month he wsa laid off and we lost our insurance. Being uninsured here (and knowing the true cost of treatment!) is the scariest thing ever, especially with a newborn baby.

I used to jump on the bandwagon and moan about the NHS with the rest of the brits- but never again will I say a bad word about it. Whatever problems it may have, it is a safety net that you just dont have in the states- and that piece of mind is worth more than I ever realised.

and the best part is that it is in NO WAY tied to me staying in a particular job.

AMEN to that! 

As someone who changes jobs every four years or so, this is an added bonus.

We rented Sicko this weekend and it really made me sad...I felt a bit blind to the problems with the US health care system  as I have forutnaltely never had to really use it being young, beautiful (ha ha just thought I'd throw that one in) and healthy....
ni
Is it true the health care is a bit better in france as in they get nannies paid for by the govt after having a baby to do their laundr
my sis lives in the US and does not currently have healthcare..she just discovered that walmart has a program that will let her get her birth control for 9 dollars compared to krogers that charges 31 ...i thought that was excellent..

I think both the US ant the UK should look at the health care system in France where you have a choice between public and private. There is competition between the 2 and that allows for more choices and less waiting times. I don't understand why having health insurance is not mandatory in the US. It's true that 47 millions people don't have insurance but a good half of these people just decide to use their money for something else because they think it's OK to file for bunkruptcy if they get sick and can't pay. That's wrong. I agree that it should be very hard to do. Who do you think pays for those claims? The people that see their premiums going up every year. On the other hand people should be able to get coverage even if they have sicknesses. Nobody should be asked to pay more because they have a condition.
The UK only invests 6% of the GDP in health care compared with 14% in the US. So the amount of taxes that you pay that actually goes for health care is not that much. Which is one of the problem the NHS have. Not enough funds. You pay more taxes int the UK because there are other benefits like Maternity leave and free half day preeschool for 3 and 4 years old kids.
One scary thing abut the US health insurance is that most of the times the insurance only pays 80% of your claims. You are left with the other 20% which can be thousands of dollars depending what sickness you have.
Both The UK and the US have seriuoss problems I don't konw who will be able to fix their problems fisrt.
Marilena

After my recent illness and the great  care I received from my GPs and Whittington Hospital, I felt so compelled to write a letter commending them to Gordon Brown. I also emailed it to the Clinton and Obama campaigns in the hopes that if one of them gets elected they will make health care available to all Americans regardless of availability to pay.

I should also say that when the problems began back in 2003 I had insurance through my work with an HMO. I sought help from them on several occasions. The first time they said it was gasto-entreristis and did nothing. The next time they said it was gastro reflux disease and gave me Tagamet which actually made it worse. The final time I went to them it was so bad that I went to their A&E. I had to call my ex to come get me at work where I was writhing on my office floor in pain. The doctor in the American medical I am god attitude said I might have an ulcer but that I would have to swallow a camera and endure a battery of tests to be sure. He gave me Vicadin and sent me away terrified. Mind you after a year and several visits no one had even suggested gall stones which given my age, gender, family history and symptoms was obvious. And I never had a single test. It was cheaper for them to give me powerful and sometimes addictive drugs than to run tests...a simple ultrasound would have found my problem. Back then it could have been handle through a laproscopic procedure with a much quicker recovery time. Now I have endured major surgery, am discouraged and depressed that my recovery is so slow, and we have taken a real hit to our income because I have had to go on Statutory Sick Pay which is practically nothing. I am so tempted to sue that HMO in a California court. In fact, when we visit my son in April I very well might try and find a lawyer to take the case on a no fee basis if I can.

When Paul mentions moving back to the US, I think my biggest reservation is leaving the NHS. My GPs even called my husband on a couple of occasions while I was in the hospital to check up on me. My UK doctors had the absolute best bed-side manner I have ever seen. I was terrified, not of the surgery but of being put to sleep. From my surgeon who was evidently one of the top ones in the country to my junior doctor to the ultrasound doctor to all my nurses, they were all kind, understanding and empathetic. I know that had I expressed my concerns in such a way to an American doctor he would have taken this condescending tone and said that I was being ridiculous. I really can't say enough wonderful things about the NHS. It is one of my favorite things about the UK. And I expressed that to Gordon Brown, Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama.

It's true that 47 millions people don't have insurance but a good half of these people just decide to use their money for something else because they think it's OK to file for bunkruptcy if they get sick and can't pay.

I would like to see what proof you have to substantiate this claim - that half of the uninsured in the US simply choose to be uninsured.

I think both the US ant the UK should look at the health care system in France where you have a choice between public and private.

Do you have first hand experience of the UK and French systems? I only ask because I recently heard a UK doctor who works in France being interviewed and the way she described the French system it was horrendous.

It's true that 47 millions people don't have insurance but a good half of these people just decide to use their money for something else because they think it's OK to file for bunkruptcy if they get sick and can't pay.

  I'd like to see what proof you have of this as well. 

I didn't mean it statistically it's what I see around me.  When my husband was in Law School and only worked part time we had an insurance plan that I think was called Hospital Plan. It did not cover any check ups ( so I didn't get any pap smear for over 3 years) but it would have covered for cancer treatment, hospitalization etc... so that we would not have occur more debts that we could pay. Those plans are very affordable and most people would get them if health insurance was mandatory. I know people that make more money that my parents ever made that don't pay for health insurance. I know many people that could definally afford those emergergency plans but don't. Except that my parents had to pay for health care because it was taken from their pay checks. I don't like the US system but it's  what we have. I am voting for Hillary Clinton because she is beeing trying to change the system for years. The problem is that Americans don't want to pay more taxes to support Universal Care, they don't whant for Health Insurance to be mandatory but they want free care. It doens't work that way.
Of course then there are people that can't get insurance because they have too many problems and no health insurance would cover them. I have also beeing there and it was horrible. Maybe it's not half ot the 47 millions that could afford health insurance but it's definally a big percentage. Is it fair? No way! I talked about it in a different post. The US health Care System is not fair but for now is what we have hopefully it will change.

No I don't have first hand experience with the French system, I do however with the German system which is similar...and even not being perfect it works fairly well and everybody is covered. I also watched Sycko and I read about how it works. It just makes perfect sense having the competition and the choices that the French system has. Nobody is happy with the system that they have, because no system is perfect. A doctor would rather work in the US because doctors make 3 times more money in the US that in France or Italy.
I really wish we could find the perfect system and every country could adopt it because health care has too big of an impact in everybody's life.
Marilena

The way I see it you pay for it one way or another. Those same people that complain about higher taxes would be surprised if they realised that in all likelihood they could have a nationalised health care for them, their families and those unable to afford it for less than what they currently are paying for insurance through their employer. My NI (national insurance) deduction is a much smaller percentage of my gross earnings than the monthly cost of that crappy HMO coverage for me and my kids. And I don't have a co-pay for doctors or hospital visits like I did with the HMO.

It's hard to know why people do or don't have health insurance in the US. Just because someone makes what seems a decent wage, doesn't mean it's affordable to them. Personally, I've never been without it, but it comes with a high price. If I had to carry a family plan through my employer, it would cut my pay almost in half and there is no way I could do it. I can't afford to feed my son on that, so thank goodness I don't have to. My insurance is not great at all, I pay plenty out of pocket, but if something big were to come up I can't afford to be without it either. The whole thing is a mess. At my job, we often see people working to keep their hours under full time so they aren't eligible for the company's insurance, then are able to apply for state funded coverage. Seems the system isn't working so well, because now I'm paying for not only my insurance, but part of theirs too.