US Adverts on National Healthcare

... other than that low-income from self-employment exemption

And it is LOW income...  I can't remember the cap on it..

 I just wanted to make sure I was doing things legally... most people I taught with did it under the table. 

And it is LOW income...  I can't remember the cap on it..

£5,075 for the current fiscal year.   Class 2 for self employment:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/nic.htm

I know I shouldn't have been. The claim was I need to pay NHS contributions for 6 months.  I would love to report them but he is the same GP my husband uses. I've read about a couple of people who have been told they can't use the NHS on spousal visa's.

But that's just completely wrong - go to another GP. My DW 9on a spousal visa since Oct) had problems registering with mine, because they were dragging their feet rather than just refusing, so she went up the road - signed up and booked in for a check up straight away, in the meantime her card came through for my surgery so she just phoned to say she'd gone elsewhere. Aside from the smear tests not being as regular as they are in the states she's had nothing but good things to say about the treatment here and tells her dad and sister not to believe the stories put about on TV in the States.

Betsy McCaughey talking on The Fred Thompson Show:

Thanks everyone for your advice.
My husband couldn't answer this but you can register with a gyn.

Another of the forums I frequent is the MobileRead forum, and one of the members had a prayer-request thread going for his brother who had aggressive form of the T-Cell Lymphoma. During the course of the thread it emerged that his father and his uncle both died of the T-Cell. And his brother, tragically, succumbed to it too. Incredibly sad.

But what brought me literally to tears was his last post saying (I'm paraphrasing) "I probably have TCell too, but unfortunately my current job is in a small business so no health insurance. And I can't get private cause of some pre-existing heart conditions."

And you know what got me? That he didn't sound outraged, or angry. He sounded resigned!

And it's not like this is an isolated case.

DH and I sometimes disagree about money - he likes to spend and I like to save.  

He doesn't get why I like to keep money in the bank rather than spend it.

It just dawned on me that, as someone who grew up with the NHS, he never grew up with the idea that you need to have a lot of money saved away in case something happens with your health and you need to pay a lot of money for medical care.

I was always raised with the idea that you need to save as much money as you can in the bank in case you become very ill. Now that I think of it, it's kind of weird that British people don't have to think about that.

DH and I sometimes disagree about money - he likes to spend and I like to save.  

He doesn't get why I like to keep money in the bank rather than spend it.

It just dawned on me that, as someone who grew up with the NHS, he never grew up with the idea that you need to have a lot of money saved away in case something happens with your health and you need to pay a lot of money for medical care.

I was always raised with the idea that you need to save as much money as you can in the bank in case you become very ill. Now that I think of it, it's kind of weird that British people don't have to think about that.

I think that's a very good point.  My husband saves, but most people I know here (those around my age [late 20s/early 30s], at least) don't have any savings unless they're saving temporarily to buy/pay for something specific. 

It just dawned on me that, as someone who grew up with the NHS, he never grew up with the idea that you need to have a lot of money saved away in case something happens with your health and you need to pay a lot of money for medical care.

I was always raised with the idea that you need to save as much money as you can in the bank in case you become very ill. Now that I think of it, it's kind of weird that British people don't have to think about that.

But Americans in general don't save - it's savings rate is even lower than the UK's and actually went negative for a few years over the last decade.

But Americans in general don't save - it's savings rate is even lower than the UK's and actually went negative for a few years over the last decade.

Some Americans save; some don't. Some Brits save; some don't.

But Brits never have to worry about having enough money in case of a medical crisis, whether that means relying on savings, going bankrupt, or just not getting medical care at all.

When DH has made financial decisions, he has never had to think about what would happen if he became ill and how his financial choices would affect that.

Think of how many Americans choose jobs just because of the medical benefits. Think of how their attitudes might change if they never had to worry about access to medical care, or how British attitudes toward money and jobs might change if there were no NHS.

Some Americans save; some don't. Some Brits save; some don't.

But Brits never have to worry about having enough money in case of a medical crisis, whether that means relying on savings, going bankrupt, or just not getting medical care at all.

Indeed. However the savings rate of the two countries indicate very clearly that this doesn't translate into Americans actually saving more than the British for this eventuality. You'd think logically it would, especially given the high rate of medical bill induced bankruptcies in the US, but in reality it doesn't.

Think of how many Americans choose jobs just because of the medical benefits.

Or who are stuck in jobs they don't like because they provide health insurance. Or who are working in retirement to buy medications etc. There's no doubt that health care access has a huge impact on people's job decisions. One more reason why tying health insurance to employment is a terrible idea for both employees amd employers.

Think of how their attitudes might change if they never had to worry about access to medical care, or how British attitudes toward money and jobs might change if there were no NHS.

It's an interesting thought. I tend to think the British would act more like Asians than Americans and save a lot more money than now. Bankruptcy, for example, still seems to have more stigma attached to it in the UK than the US. Having said that, if you look at the average credit card debt of the two countries, Britain has rapidly become more like the US in terms of finances over the last ten years, so I certainly wouldn't be betting on this outcome!

Or who are stuck in jobs they don't like because they provide health insurance. Or who are working in retirement to buy medications etc. There's no doubt that health care access has a huge impact on people's job decisions. One more reason why tying health insurance to employment is a terrible idea for both employees amd employers.

HA! I recognize you!  What are you doing over here, huh? Anyways, just wanted to say that your first sentence has struck true for me. I am pretty much stuck in a job (and a career field) that I hate because I need to make sure I always have insurance coverage. It sucks, and is pretty depressing sometimes. My biggest wish is to be free of this burden. And when we move to the UK next year, I hope I'll finally have the opportunity to explore other employment opportunities I never would dare to here.

My biggest problem with the current proposals, as far as I can undertand them, is:
this is essentially providing health insurance plans to people who currently are not insured. However, these proposals do nothing, nada, zip, zilch to lower the prices of treatments. Just because a person has insurance doesn't mean they'll be able to afford the cost of copays, prescriptions, treatments, etc. Unless this gov't funded plan is going to drastically make a difference in prices, prescriptions, treatment, etc what use is this plan really? People will still die because they can't afford treatment, and we'll still have people filing bankruptcy due to medical bills.

this is essentially providing health insurance plans to people who currently are not insured.

So why does it contain clauses to prohibit people from taking out or renewing existing private coverage?

I'm glad I found this discussion... I have been losing my mind, listening to the crazy stuff Americans are saying about the NHS. They seem to think we spend our days in breadlines, dying of cancer or something.

Time for Britain to fight back, and I'd suggest that the embassy do it a bit louder.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/11/nhs-united-states-republican-health