To hesitate to move back from US to UK because of terrible state of NHS

Nigel..? Is that you..?

@localnotail Ah. I was really taken aback by the health insurance premiums that you quoted ($2K/month) if you’re not insured through your employer. The premiums are far lower for a Gold (top-of the-range) plan where I live, even for an oldie (51) like me!

How is that relevant to the OP if she is in a position to pay for private healthcare?

Don’t care about rich people leaving? So you’re deluded and economically and fiscally illiterate.

Really showing yourself up there.

No point talking to someone with such limited knowledge about the fact that top rate taxpayers who contribute so much are leaving or that the top companies in FTSE are also diverting their investment to the US, many are talking about leaving the stock market altogether, or that Poland’s economy is on track to be bigger than UK’s by 2035.

I imagine you wouldn’t know or care much about that. You know…because confidence is all it takes.

I live in the UK. My family are in California.

This is bullshit. As someone with several long term health conditions I have nothing but the prise for the NHS.

But judging by the rest of your rant you just there to vent... not to be factual.

@localnotail Are you in a state without a healthcare exchange?

My friend was diagnosed with breast cancer after a routine mammogram. Surgery was prompt, radiotherapy afterwards. Her only complaint was lack of support afterwards - but not sure what she expects. They do follow-up checks but they can’t be an emotional crutch.
My own DD had numbness on her right side . A call to 111 after a couple days of this and trip to A&E. Next day MRI scan and she was admitted that day for more tests. She was diagnosed with MS relatively quickly (she was about to start her A levels and needed to get some measures put in place in time). She is on expensive medication that costs £1500/injection.
I was six months pregnant when the nurse sent me for a glucose tolerance test because I was measuring big. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes (eventually developing in to type 1). Immediately put on a different track and went to hospital every week after that. I am now on two kinds of insulins. I also had two caesarean sections.
The cost if all this? Nothing. Sure it’s paid through tax contributions, but if I had never paid a cent into it I’d still get it all for free as a British citizen.
My sister in the US has a child with profound autism. She pays more than $2000/month in health insurance and still has to copay thousands a year for her DD’s medication. She still has to wait for appointments and treatments. Her induced birth cost get close to $6000.
The NHS is far from perfect. It is a safety net not available to many uninsured in the US. But bottom line is I could not afford to live in the US and co pay for insulin or my DD’s medication and regular MRIs. Thank God for the NHS.
Also I took a pay cut when I moved to the US for five years, pay isn’t always less.

...on the good side, you don’t send kids to school fearing a mass shooting, but Knife crime is rife.

Knife crime is more prevalent in the US @Mumsgirls

It's just that the rampant shooting statistics so dwarf all other violent crime that it's not spoken about so much.

I might be deluded, but you’re ridiculous. The drama of it! Third world country…? Do you realise how utterly ridiculous that sounds? Look around the room you are in, the chair you are sat on, and give your head a wobble.

Also ‘Two Tier’… Ridiculous. Do you need someone to give you a slap on the back? You’ve swallowed GB News whole - you need to be careful you don’t choke.

The current government really isn’t great. We’ve had worse in the last 5 years. The economy is shite. Couldn’t give a shiny shit about rich people leaving it.

Times are hard. You know what’s not going to turn them around? Hyperbolic overly dramatic carping on about third world fucking countries, talking us down, crushing confidence when we desperately need it.

I would.stay in the US no way would I come back to the UK atm.

In the US health insurance is usually through your employer. If you pay yourself its something like 2k/ month per person. Seeing a dr without insurance is around $700 for one 20min consultation. I had an emergency check up at a hospital for bleeding while pregnant and got a £15k bill (thanks fuck I had good travel insurance) - all it was just a quick check on baby's heartbeat and my blood pressure.

My recent experiences:
DS1 fell and hurt his foot. Couldn’t weight bear. Took him to minor injuries/urgent care (right next door to A&E) at 9pm on a Friday. Booked in, triaged, x rayed, diagnosed and left at 11.30pm.
DS2 - lots of nosebleeds. School concerned. In May Got GP appointment for following week. Blood pressure high-ish. Referred to children’s hospital, with appointment 2 weeks later. Given 24 hour monitor there and then, collected by courier next day. Been on two separate medications. Has been part of a trial on hypertension in kids. Has had 3 consultant appointments, with ECGs at each time along with an MRI. All since May.
me - just had gynae surgery. Have been seeing gynae consultant for about 18 months. Trying to avoid hysterectomy. Last appointment needed a scan booked - happened the next day. As well as blood test etc. yes have been delays in the meantime. But that’s because not on the 2 week cancer pathway.
mother - has survived ovarian and bowel cancers including major surgery in the last 10 years. More recently, home GP visits, visits from the repiratory team (has also had recent COPD onset). Also needed an ambulance about 3 months ago - terrible sats. Came within 20 mins, following NHS111 call and referral.
I could go on and on.
yes, my gynae stuff has taken a long time overall. And ds1 has ADHD and needs medication and we’ve gone private for this while waiting for NHS to confirm they will take on the prescribing.
but when push comes to shove, general experience has been excellent - especially for the kids (who are 20 and 16).
south east London. So aware that are lucky to have local hospital and GP services but access to the London teaching/research hospitals too. Might mean less stretched.

It really is not the same system here. Even if you have private health care insurance it’s not the same system and can’t compare the 2.

This is a joke, right? My family lives in the US and I'm very familiar with the weird way healthcare works there. Getting appointments, getting treatments approved, constant fights with the insurance company to make them pay, headache when they refuse to pay for medication or treatment which always costs thousands. Every time I talk to them it makes me feel so grateful we have the NHS...

And no, my relatives are not poor. They have very good quality expensive insurance. But having private healthcare system does not mean you will be seen instantly, or will have guaranteed treatment, or get to see a good doctor. You still have to wait, you have to shop around to find a good specialist, and you have to be prepared you might have to pay some of the costs, or even all of it.

In any case, you can always get BUPA here or some other scheme. Its not that expensive, and a lot of companies have a family scheme. I had it as an added bonus in several companies I worked with - but I actually never felt the need to use it.

Depends on your currrnt health situation. So we moved back to the uk with my daughter who has specific health conditions/ needs. We had to move back for personal reasons and if I could I would turn back time and never leave the care and support she got compared to here.

Stand seeing people talk country down? Have you swallowed one of Two Tier’s badly written speeches.

Let me guess, you’re ideologically blinded and don’t mind being lowering your bar to below earth’s crust, just so you can pretend that’s everything’s great. When the country is headed to bankruptcy because of our budget deficit and insane public spending, top rate taxpayers are feeling the country like the plague has broken out, businesses can’t abandon this country fast enough, and we’re reduced to fast becoming a thrid world country.

Sorry, but you’re deluded.

I love the UK and think the people of all colours and creeds who live for the most part in amity and mutual tolerance here, are some of the kindest, most welcoming and politest on the planet.

But the NHS does scare me particularly as I age. I wish we could move to a European type health insurance system.

How much do you pay for your health insurance in the US?

I can’t stand seeing people talk our country down.

Wait, don’t tell me, let me guess… you’re a flag waving ‘patriot”. I recognise your flavour of patriotism. It shits all over everything that’s good about this country.

@Star555 If you’re prepared to pay for private medical treatment, I personally think you’ll be fine. Re. Any future children. To regularly see a pediatrician as they would in the US, for example, you’ll need to pay privately, but then you’d be paying insurance premiums in the US so it might be awash.

I suspect that many people posting have no idea how good healthcare (with good insurance) can be in the US so I understand why your parents don’t want to move back as older adults. But you’re decades younger.

Tbh, unless you’re a high earner, your standard of living will probably drop in the UK, but you’ll have safety, more leave/employment rights, and the climate- yes, I personally love the UK’s climate. 😂

I think you’ve summed it up succinctly tbf!

How often are you in A&E?!

My GP practice is excellent, I’ve had hospital treatment fault recently and it was excellent. My father in law lives in a different county/health trust and just received excellent emergency and in-patient care.

The NHS has been in a better place, but it really isn’t as bad as the dramatic headlines. And compared to the treatment a poor American receives, it’s incredible.

I have benefitted, as an adult, from free maternity care twice, both requiring a week’s stay in hospital; 2 lots of investigations for suspected cancer under a 2 week pathway; been sterilised; had jaw surgery; had knee surgery and now get free meds for the rest of my life. I’ve also had breast and cervical screening several times, several vaccinations and eye / hearing tests. All for free. Plus likely hundreds of GP appointments.
How much would that cost in the US either via health insurance or direct payment?

@Star555 my father in law has an urgent care centre on the same site as his GP practice and also a small cottage hospital on the same site - what he doesn’t have is a full scale A&E for 10 miles. We do have urgent care centres , but not everywhere -