Visitor - can't register with a GP?

Hey guys, I chose a new thread so it doesn't clog up the main one.

I think I was given some bad advice. I was told via email from a GP that's accepting patients in the UK, that my wife, who will be on a visitor visa (6 months) was able to register with the practice as a visitor, and also receive prescriptions - just at full cost.

From what I just read above in the main registration thread that is not the case and we have to have private or some for of medical insurance instead.

I'm freaking out a bit as she has an ongoing prescription that we will need to replenish.

She should be able to register with a GP, but if she doesn't have travel insurance (with medical cover) to cover her trip, she will be charged 150% of the cost of the treatment.

See here for more information about accessing the NHS as a visitor in the UK:
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/uk-visitors/visiting-england/Pages/visitors-from-outside-the-eea.aspx

Thanks ksand24, despite the enormous increase of 150%, it actually brought me some relief.

Would Travel Insurance with Medical Cover help with prescriptions? She has an on-going prescription we want to replenish during her 6 months...that is our only concern really.

Currently she gets it through my coverage which terminates end of the year.

In your general assessment what would be the best strategy

1. Just pay 150% for the treatment/prescription
2. Take out the Travel/Health coverage
3. Get her a US individual care plan and just make sure we the $ to cover each month. That way perhaps she can have her parents mail her the prescription (is this illegal?)

  did I just read this correctly....Prescriptions on the NHS are only 8.20 gbp - at 150% that would be what $20 at most... and the visit to the GP is FREE, no co-pay...

Surely that can't be right...I realize hospital treatment would be massive BUT if we were just talking my wife's prescriptions, it's telling me I would only pay $20, say a month to re-fill?

Serious?

If she is already in the UK I doubt she will be able to purchase travel insurance now because you usually have to buy it before you travel.

But if she is still in the US, can she request 6 months of her prescription from her doctor to take with her? That way she won't need to replenish it in the UK. That's what I do when I live/travel abroad - I just ask my GP for enough medication to last for the length of my travels... Though I know it can be harder to get longer prescriptions in the US than in the UK.

If not, I would recommend that she purchases travel insurance before she leaves to cover her trip. She should really be buying it anyway, regardless of the new NHS rules - I don't travel anywhere abroad without buying travel insurance first (it generally should come with medical cover as part of the coverage).


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did I just read this correctly....Prescriptions on the NHS are only 8.20 gbp - at 150% that would be what $20 at most... and the visit to the GP is FREE, no co-pay...

Surely that can't be right...I realize hospital treatment would be massive BUT if we were just talking my wife's prescriptions, it's telling me I would only pay $20, say a month to re-fill?

Serious?

No, it's not right.  Once she's allowed use of the NHS, the cost will be £8.20.  Until then it'll be the cost of the drug.  Could even be less than £8.20 depending.

Her doctor in the US should be able to give her a full 6 month supply before traveling.  Usually it has to be done through mail order.  I would do that.

If you ever come to apply for a settlement visa in the UK, they will ask about NHS care and ensure you were billed and paid the correct amounts.  Make sure you keep copies of all bills and payments.  Also INSIST on a bill if they say there is no cost.  Even if they want to issue a bill for £0.

You can buy WorldNomads coverage when out of your home country. I did this for a visitor who traveled to visit us in SE Asia without insurance.

In your general assessment what would be the best strategy

1. Just pay 150% for the treatment/prescription

What about insurance for any other urgent treatment that might be needed while she is in the UK - gets run over, falls down the stairs, has a stoke, heart attack, burst appendix etc? Her NHS bill would run into thousands of pounds and 50% will be added to the bill.

Free A&E treatment is only on the actual A&E ward and that doesn't cover exisiting conditions, just urgent stuff that suddenly cropped up and doesn't need expensive treatment like operations, stays on a ward, outpatient care.

2. Take out the Travel/Health coverage

Straight away. Even Brits who aren't living in the UK (and they will need to prove they are) can't use the NHS for free when they visit and get 50% added to their bill if they don't have insurance. It's 25% added to their bill if they live in another EEA country and use that countries EHIC to pay the NHS bill.

What about insurance for any other urgent treatment that might be needed while she is in the UK - gets run over, falls down the stairs, has a stoke, heart attack, burst appendix etc? Her NHS bill would run into thousands of pounds and 50% will be added to the bill.

Yes, that's the exact reason why I always purchase travel insurance when I travel abroad - especially when I go to the US because of the extortionate costs of healthcare without insurance there. I don't want to be stuck without insurance and hundreds of thousands of pounds of medical debt if something unexpected happens to me when I'm away.

It's 25% added to their bill if they live in another EEA country and use that countries EHIC to pay the NHS bill.

Actually there is no added 25% EHIC 'charge'.

Under the Visitor and Migrant NHS Cost Recovery Programme, a 25% incentive is given to local trusts for reporting EHIC use, but that is paid to the trust from the UK Department of Health international budget, not from the patient.

The problem with EHIC, the problem with billing, is that it is an administrative burden. So healthcare providers, and Member State Health Departments, have a tendency to let things slide. Bills are never issued to other Member States and if they are, they are not pursued. This 25% incentive is an attempt to spur billing activity.

But the real situation, in all likelihood, is that Continental Member States do not bill the UK in all cases.....so when Britain ramps up its debt collection process.....Spain and France and Germany will start billing us back for all the bills they have not processed. It will end up a wash.

But this is why I find all of the chest thumping over foreign NHS use so frustrating....systems exist.....visitors have always been subject to charges.

No one is striking a blow for justice here by loudly talking about recovering healthcare debt. All that is happening is that a lot of cash is being splashed out for systems that - according to this Government - will in all likelihood not recover as much as the systems cost.

If the doctor sees her as a private patient any prescription charges could be much higher than 150% of £8.20. A drug prescription from a private specialist seen through my US insurance was over £100.

I've gotten some good quotes from various travel agencies that will cover my wife for the six months. It ranges from $300-1,000 depending on coverage.

Her GP was also extremely helpful and gave her a 12 month prescription. We'll have about 4 months on hand when we leave but getting the rest vial mail order could be tricky, as once my insurance in the US terminates it will be at full cost.

Still, I'm happy with what we have, and hopefully I can secure employment within three months at the required level, then she can just fly back home and submit for the settlement Visa.

I also just found out my mother has breast cancer so it's perfect timing to go home, plus my dad had a stroke last year and although he recovered well, he does have some lapses.

I'm really thankful I can go, as I know a lot of people who are stuck in the US with failing parents in the UK and can't be with them.

Sorry to hear about your parents Karl.    I'm a UK citizen, my wife US citizen and my father recently passed away from a very aggressive cancer (less that 12 months from first symptoms to death), so I understand what a difficult situation it is.    I wish you and your wife all the best.

If your wife still has a US primary residence and is a UK visitor for the 6 months it's possible she could buy private US health insurance on a state exchange (your coverage ending would be a qualifying event).   US health insurance often provides emergency coverage outside of the US and she could return to the US for further treatment -it might be worth looking at if you have any doubts about the travel insurance plan.   I'd guess a bronze level plan might cost around $500 a month.   It would also give her continuity of health coverage when she returns to the US at the end of her visit.

My grand daughter visited me in June and July 2015.  She ran out of a med that she uses daily.  I called my gp surgery to try to get her in.  They said they could only see NHS patients.  Since she was a visitor, she wasn't allowed to use the NHS.  I had to find her a private practice.  It cost £30 for the visit and if she had received treatment, it would have cost a lot more.  She got the prescription.  It looked different that the NHS ones I normally get and it had PRIVATE stamped across the top.  She paid full price for her meds.