To be shocked that a US friend is paying $1970 a month health insurance

[crunchymint]

That is her monthly premium for health insurance and is an insane amount of money.

No wonder the Americans I spoke to about travel insurance were surprised how cheap it was. I had thought it was expensive as I had pre existing conditions, but in comparison to what they pay it is a bargain.

Why isn’t Obama care more popular?

The NHS wasn’t universally welcomed when it was proposed.

A bit before my time but I believe a large political party beginning with C weren’t 100% in favour!

The costs can be astronomical. Like 30k for a set of titanium bolts for a friend of mines neck. Just the bolts. Cheaper at the vets, my son’s cat has a similar amount of metalwork in his thigh. The total op cost £900 or so.

He is diabetic and runs out of insurance money towards the end of the year - and then has to buy insulin from the chemist.

I’ve discussed the NHS with him. He’s against Obamacare and anything like a national health service because he doesn’t trust the government. Be it Democrat or Republican. But is happy to sink vast sums of money into private businesses.

Madness.

And my only fallback plan for life without an NHS would be suicide. I ma mid 50s with a genetic illness that was not diagnosed until my twenties. It will get worse as I get older. I am a terrible insurance risk.

In surveys, the affordable care act was popular, Obamacare wasn’t.

They are of course the same thing, but one of those has a black guy's name in it.

This is what I was commenting on the other day! If you disagree or do not approve with what a 'person of colour’ said/did - then the ignorant among us accuse you of racism. Above is a shining example of racism. I would like to remind this poster that in the U.S. the black population is only 13%. White Americans had a great deal to do with the fact he was elected.

I used to follow the progress of a boy in the US who was being treated for cancer and subsequent health issues afterwards. He came dangerously close to his family's upper limit for insurance and his parents were really scared they would lose him due to lack of money for ongoing care. My US based relatives hate the idea of an NHS type system as they see it as themselves paying for other people's treatment rather than everyone benefitting, especially in the case of a serious illness or accident, and healthy people being better for the country.

No, we should be putting pressure on our elected representatives to make sure the NHS is preserved for future generations.

The problem is that simply isn't working. And by the time people realise, it will be "too late".

Until people stop voting Tory, I'd be working on a plan B. Because plan A ain't working.

MrsDGRs first proper wheelchair (she had to buy it herself in 1995, or get used to looking out of the lounge) came from the US, and cost $$$$. It is a fucking amazing piece of kit (sorry, who told the British they could build stuff ????) and is as strong and sturdy as the day it was delivered.

A few years ago, it needed an armrest. I asked DB (whos in the US) to source one and post it to me. He did a bit of digging and it turned out the company went bust in 2004. The reason ? Their wheelchairs were too expensive for insurance companies, and they simply couldn't sell them at the price the insures were willing to pay.

If anyone here has ever encountered a loss adjuster when claiming for a car or building repair .... now imagine that same person advising the hospital or doctor what the price cap is.

Yes, that is how it's done.

If there's anyone who can't imagine it, don't worry. You won't have to, soon.

I'll sign off by saying GOD BLESS THE NHS. It's given DW a shot at a less shit life, saved DS life, cared for my DM towards the end, and has kept DF going so far. And that's before we add in the fact that I can see to type, as they have saved my sight too.

So GOD BLESS THE NHS and ALL WHO WORK FOR HER.

This is why professional salaries are higher in the USA. US residents pay more in healthcare related tax than UK and European residents.

I’m in the US and we pay less than $500 per month for DH, DD and I, and it’s tax deductible. We don’t have a bells and whistles plan so we have to pay $20 for first doctor’s office visit, $20 for a prescription up to a max of $3000 a year. The cost will go down further when I go back to work and am covered by my own plan. In the U.K. we were paying NI contributions, £150ish per month on private health insurance and I paid close to £20,000 out of pocket to have DD. So the US system works out considerably cheaper for us. However, it’s quite uncomfortable knowing that this is at the expense of people on low incomes who don’t have adequate health insurance. But then again I’m not a US citizen, I don’t get to vote and I didn’t make the system so it’s not something I’m going to lose any sleep over.

Im not suprised. My dbro is 53 and has had skin cancer twice, common pasty european skin and californian sun. He has paid 600 dollars a month and his employers 1200 a month. He loses his job in June. God knows what happens then.

No Charolais, I read it quite differently. Of course millions of white people votedfor Obama. They loved affordable care. But then the white backlash came and the racists all voted against Obamacare. Now it’s biting many of them in the bum, but they can’t bring themselves to admit they voted against their own interests.

Medical bills are the number 1 cause of bankruptcies in the USA.

I live in the States and do not want to grow old here. We have ‘good’ health insurance but there are still co-pays/deductibles which we have to pay....it’s a minefield and when I look at the medical bills they are difficult to understand why some parts of a procedure is paid by the insurance company but not others.

I had to go and see my local GP a couple of weeks ago; my cholesterol levels had risen and he put me on the lowest level of a statin, but wanted me to go in and have another blood test and office visit for evaluation 3 months later (which is why I saw him a couple of weeks ago).

Although I have insurance, I still had to pay $256 (179 pounds) for the blood test and 5 minute chat with the doctor. The insurance kicks in after I have spent $2000 per year on medical bills.

Dental and eye coverage is seperate (different insurance companies allied to the main one we have with my husband’s employer - Cigna.)

Yesterday I spent $568 at the dentist’s on a crown, good job I had a credit card on me (and had already paid $1100 on previous visits last month)....we apparently have a lifetime cap of $2000 on orthodontics and hadn’t used any of it up, but the insurance company rejected the portion that the dentist thought I needn’t have to pay. The reason given was that the crown is not ‘visible’ as it is at the back of the mouth the insurance company aren’t paying!

I broke my finger whilst on holiday in the US and it cost me, and then my travel insurancers, £1000. It wasn't a bad break either, I didn't even notice I'd done it at first.

But then the white backlash came and the racists all voted against Obamacare.

No they didn't there were legitimate reasons against Obamacare from within his own party and support base, it is far more nuanced than "its racist what done it"

Go have a read on Washpo/NY Time, motherjones for many article printed at the time, might open your eyes a little.

Why do we fight so hard against an NHS-style system? Because it's (gasp, horror) socialized medicine!!! Anything that can be tagged as 'socialism' is anathema to the 1% and the right wing. Especially with our current administration.

I think there's also a feeling of 'us vs them'. 'We' go to private doctors and 'they' go to public health clinics and ERs. 'We' don't want to have to sit in public clinics waiting around with 'them'.

I am retired and have very good health insurance with no lifetime cap. I do pay for it but nothing like the OP's friend. A lot depends on who your employer is. DH's health insurance is 100% paid for by his former employer. We are in the minority.

Our adult son had a mental breakdown a few years ago and if it weren't for Obamacare (ACA) I'm truly convinced we would have lost him. His earnings were too high for public health assistance. The ACA paid for his care almost 100%, something we could not have afforded to do if he had been uninsured.

I'd willingly pay higher taxes for an NHS style system here.

This not not surprising. I’m in the US and our premium is double that, plus we have to pay an excess for every doctor’s visit etc.

Healthcare in the US costs the Government more per capita than the UK. It's all about business. sadly the NHS is heading this way.

Btw; I still can’t get my head around the “I’m all right, Jack” attitude in the States towards healthcare, it’s every man for himself......yet quite often in shops and diners there are posters up with local bake sales, 5k runs etc. to try and raise money for an unfortunate person with a medical ailment not covered by insurance.

Americans seem to be happy to pay for public schools to educate children, even if they’re not parents themselves, but not ever for a minute will the majority of them want to pay for free or low cost medical care for all. It’s almost like it’s someone’s own fault that they are ill and why should they pay for it? I think the author Bill Bryson has written about this conundrum.

Now it’s biting many of them in the bum, but they can’t bring themselves to admit they voted against their own interests.

I thought this thread was about US medical insurance, not Brexit

When I think of the amount of money that must be spent by the NHS saving very ill babies and children. Masses of resources. And to think that without the NHS some of these children may die, breaks my heart.

And yes my friend spent 4 weeks in a mental health ward after a breakdown in the UK. Severe mental illness costs a lot to treat.

Another curiosity my DB noticed was that US clinics love to do scans and tests. Loads of them. And give you the results (he's got a library of DVDs with his MRI, PET and CAT scans). But that's more about covering doctors in case of litigation than patient care.

If you get a chance, please watch the Michael Moore 2 hour documentary, “Sicko” (It is on Amazon Prime, maybe on Youtube?).

He compares the US healthcare system with Canada, the UK, France and Cuba.....you will be shocked, I think!

They pay less tax.

Yes and no - very dependent on where you live - most States have State income, sales and property taxes, and income taxes can be levied at even more local levels down as far as school districts. When you take everything into account in some States it's not that different from here, but it's a very big country with wide variations

A bit before my time but I believe a large political party beginning with C weren’t 100% in favour!

Doctors weren't all thrilled.

When the Liberals introduced a tiny pension in the early 1900s the Tories said it would "rot the moral fibre of the working classes" - not much has changed.

My gran who was an adult before the NHS was a big supporter. She had seen the impact of only being able to afford a Dr if it was deemed to be very serious. Most things were just treated at home with advice from neighbours which sometimes worked out okay, and sometimes was a disaster.