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.

Well at least she will get good treatment hopefully for that kind of money and not be left in a corridor or have to wait weeks to see a GP.

It’s depressing, but no, not shocking. I’m American, but thank god live in the UK now (in part, because my dh and I couldn’t have been able to afford health care in the US when we had kids, dh is British). This is how people lose their homes. I can remember when I got my first real job after uni (in the US). This was in 2003 so prices vastly cheaper than now. My health insurance was $600 a month just for me (a healthy 22 year old). If I’d had a husband and children to insure it would have been $1200 a month. My salary was only $1300!! And then on top of that, there’s fees for appointments ($20-50 every time I saw a dr), lab work, prescription charges (my birth control was $30 a month and my asthma inhaler was $60). I was uninsured for about 5 years (thank god nothing happened to me) because I couldn’t afford insurance. During that time, I had an abnormal smear. I couldn’t afford the colposcopy and biopsy so I walked around for 2 years worried I could have cancer. It’s a barbaric system and only getting worse thanks to the republicans and a vocal minority of Americans who have bought into the propaganda about universal health care. Most Americans actually do want things to change and want something akin to the NHS or at least the Canadian system. But there’s a lot of special interests at stake and money talks unfortunately and insurance companies will do anything to keep things as profitable as they are now, no matter how detrimental it is to overall health outcomes.

@CrumbliestFlakiest

NHS type care in US is considered to be "Socialism", therefore banned.

But there is Medicare I suppose. But it only applies to over 65s and certain people with disabilities and stated illness under 65.

What a dreadful system it is for the most vulnerable under 65. OMG.

prevention (which national healthcare does) is cheaper than cures (which corporations love because they make more money).

I don't agree that this is always the case in the US. DH and I got a decent reduction ($50 per month each) in our insurance premiums if we had an annual medical check up, including breast check (for me), testicle check (for him!) and thorough blood tests. Neither of us had had a medical like this before we moved the UK, though I understand if we had stayed in the UK at some point we would have been invited to the GP for a "Well Woman" check or a "40+ check".

I can never for the life of me understand why some in the US look at the NHS like it's a bad thing

It's seen a socialist thing which makes it a Very Bad Thing. Also, although I love the NHS and will fight to retain it, it's far from perfect. The ability to ring up my DC's pediatrician and schedule their vaccinations for a time that suits me is amazing, rather than simply be sent a summons to the GP or run the gauntlet of the telephone appointment system to set something up that may or may not be particularly convenient.

Why was Obamacare so unpopular? Well, it didn't help that on (some? all?) payslips there was a separate line detailing how much had been deducted at source to fund it. No tax is going to be popular if you can see each month how much it costs, particularly if you are also paying into a private insurance policy and are unlikely to benefit from Obamacare personally

Depends what the breast check is. Mammograms performed every year on young healthy women are not a good idea and lead to over treatment.

I know the NHS is far from perfect, that is because we spend less of our GDP than almost every other western country on healthcare.
But I appreciate as someone with a serious health problem that I can get care when I need it without having to worry about money.

I wouldn't touch genetic testing from genealogy sites with a bargepole

You wont need to soon, EU have announced today plans to make Biometric ID cards compulsory across the block, which they own and retain said data.

It will pretty much get rolled out across most nations at some point

My FIL recently had a cataract operation. It was day surgery. The hospital billed him $5000 for their costs which DIDN'T include the cost of the operation as he had to pay the surgeon direct for that. That was another $2000.
He has health insurance so only had to pay am excess fee which was about $500. God knows what you do if your insurance won't pay

crunchy - it was a very thorough manual examination, not a mammogram

I also appreciate the ability to access health care without worrying about money: we are lucky that we can afford basic treatment without forgoing much, but we also have credit cards with large limits that we deliberately keep pretty empty just in case. And we have had one occasion where, due to a cash flow issue, we didn't have $20 that week to go to the doctor, and so DS didn't go until the following week. Fortunately it was nothing urgent, and fortunately our situation was only temporary.

crunchy - it was a very thorough manual examination, not a mammogram

I also appreciate the ability to access health care without worrying about money: we are lucky that we can afford basic treatment without forgoing much, but we also have credit cards with large limits that we deliberately keep pretty empty just in case. And we have had one occasion where, due to a cash flow issue, we didn't have $20 that week to go to the doctor, and so DS didn't go until the following week. Fortunately it was nothing urgent, and fortunately our situation was only temporary.

Thorough manual examinations are not evidenced based. It is why the NHS used to recommend women do weekly breast checks and produce leaflets on them, but have now stopped saying that and instead just say to go to the GP if you notice anything different.

I know the NHS is far from perfect, that is because we spend less of our GDP than almost every other western country on healthcare.

It doesn't absolve itself from pretty much the worse for efficiency and some health care. The problem is that any attempt to bring this up is met with opponents automatically assuming that people are suggesting a US model, as is said on pretty much all NHS threads it needs removing from the political football and cross party overview.

EU have announced today plans to make Biometric ID cards compulsory across the block, which they own and retain said data

Biometric ID cards are nothing to do with your genes!

They include your fingerprints and a photo of your face. That's it. And the legislation for these has been in place for many many years: anyone who has been given leave to remain in the UK in the last 10 years or so will have been issued with a biometric residence permit like this

Please don't scaremonger!

Actually I thought the NHS had a very high rating from WHO for efficiency?
The issue is money.

Glad there are no plans to compel people to have genetic testing.

What OlennasWimple said.

There are pros and cons about ID cards, but genetic profiling doesn't come into it.

Biometric ID cards are nothing to do with your genes!

I didn't say it was, the database behind the Biometric cards are the thing to worry about.

Please don't scaremonger!

<a class="break-all" href="https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&hl=en&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article175476959/EU-Kommission-stellt-neue-Plaene-zur-Terrorbekaempfung-vor.html&xid=17259" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&hl=en&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article175476959/EU-Kommission-stellt-neue-Plaene-zur-Terrorbekaempfung-vor.html&xid=17259,15700023,15700122,15700124,15700149,15700168,15700173,15700186,15700201

I'm not scaremongering at all.

US system has serious problems, but there is some misinformation on here. Most people have insurance through work. My benefits cover me, DH and 2 DCs. We pay out of pocket (gp visits are around $80) until we reach a $3000 deductible, then everything is covered. Though parts of Obamacare affected employer based insurance, it is really there to help those without that safety net. Not that plenty don't fall through the cracks...I pay way less tax than I did in the uk and honestly, though I'll always have a soft spot for the NHS and believe in universal healthcare, the standard of care here is really excellent. With insurance.

Just read that 72% of workers have insurance with their job, although still leaves a lot who don't.
But my post was actually about the very high cost of insurance to some people. And this has been confirmed by others on here.
And I am sure high paid people may pay less tax in the US than in the UK. But I prefer a system that benefits everyone.

I was wondering about go fund me etc when reading and can see it's been mentioned.. surely in poorer areas the fundraising must be almost constant?

My other question is how much does a funeral cost in the US? If people can't afford health care and die, who pays for the funerals and how?

Having insurance with your job is fine if you have that sort of job. But my FIL is 85 and hasn't worked for over 20 years. He does have health insurance which he pays for from his savings but lots of people aent in that position

And lots of people with job related insurance still have to contribute a lot towards it

Southern - churches and local organisations often help families and individuals who need assistance. Sweeping statement alert, but there's generally a lot more charitable giving and help in the US than in the UK. For example, our school used to collect coats, boots, scarves, hats and gloves for about 250 students who wouldn't otherwise have had them (which in practical terms means that they would not have been able to come to school). We were asked to donate new, not used items: I thought I was doing quite well to bring in two sets of Gap hats / scarves / gloves but was utterly humbled to see one of my friends donating three pairs of Merrell boots - they see it that they have the money, so it's their moral obligation to give where they can.

And lots of people with job related insurance still have to contribute a lot towards it

Yes, and there's a sharp distinction between union workers and non-union workers, both in terms of coverage and the premiums that have to be paid (basically union employment is much more favourable). Part time workers are usually not covered, which of course has a particular impact on women.

On the plus side, premiums paid through employer provided schemes are paid pre-tax, so the hit on the take home isn't quite as bad as it looks at first glance. Certain medical expenses are also tax deductible

I'm so thankful for our NHS. We are so lucky. I didn't realise how lucky until I joined an international forum for those who had leukaemia and stem cell transplants and heard from many people from USA and other countries who were having to fundraise for their transplant because their insurance was insufficient or non existent, or they had lost their jobs becsuse of their illness where the insurance came with the job. Also they had to pay for expensive life long medication. They would spend alot of time having to deal with settling invoices and liaising with insurance company.