anyone else strongly consider leaving due to garbage US healthcare?

[Anonymous]

OP - I think you are handling this incorrectly and going off the deep end a bit.
Your sleep study group will contact your insurance. They will not move forward without ensuring they will get paid, in other words, insurance. Leave a message for the sleep study billing manager and give them time to look up your info and contact you.
And - while you were in Thailand, did you miss the part where children were trafficked in the sex trade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yet my family in the UK slams the NHS. Says the care is awful and the waits are long for anything. Not sure if that is preferable to me.

Have you told them how the US system works, and how much it costs? I'm sure they would prefer their system.

My spouse is a Brit, and we have these conversations with their family all the time. Yep, they gripe about their system, but say ours is worse.

I just paid over $3000 for my DC's hospital bills for a fracture. In the UK, the care would mostly be free of charge.

oh, and this is on top of the expensive monthly premiums.

Our system is about money not care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go ahead and move to Canada, or Europe....enjoy your months-long wait to see your doctor for a max of 15 mins.

If an American moves to these countries - do they even qualify for national health care as a non-citizen?

Depends. Often yes after a number of months, like 3 and 6. And most often linked to having a job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go ahead and move to Canada, or Europe....enjoy your months-long wait to see your doctor for a max of 15 mins.

If an American moves to these countries - do they even qualify for national health care as a non-citizen?

depends. You can pay into the system to use it.

We looked into it for the UK. It's about $3500 for 3 years.

Regardless, you can pay private for everything because health care in general is cheaper every where else compared to the US. No insurance premiums needed.

We spend $20K in the US for medical care here, and most years, we don't even hit the deductible. It makes me sick to think of how much money we waste on health insurance that we use maybe a few times a year. But, we don't want to go without just in case we get a serious illness. It's f*n scary here. We are in our 50s, and we have talked about going to the UK if we want to retire early because the cost of private insurance here is stupid expensive. We would use NHS for general checkups, non-urgent issues, and pay privately for things we don't want to wait for.

My spouse is a Brit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spend a day in a Canadian hospital. Especially in maritime Canada - shit health care, long waits, and the hospital is more like 1980 when you walk in. Horrible waits for specialists. Socialized medicine is not what we want.

Lol you think that rural Montana or North Dakota has great & fast health care? Because that’s analogous to “Maritime Canada.” Just like the US, major urban centers in Canada have superior quality and availability of care. This should be exactly no surprise to anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I got a job with excellent health insurance. I can basically go anywhere and just pay a $30-40 copay.

But if for some reason you couldn't work or you lost that job, then what? Aren't you angry that we're held hostage to employers because of health care?

Never thought of it that way, add retirement to that list as well.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're still reading: You need to read this, from today's Guardian newspaper (a UK paper). A doctor talks about the insane situation of having to drive a patient from the doctor's office to the emergency room because an ambulance would have taken at least an HOUR to arrive at the office:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/24/terrifying-gp-dash-a-and-e-ambulance-delays-nhs-waiting

Also try this one though it's a bigger-picture story. Ambulance workers are striking in the UK. Yes, going on strike, as in, you can call but no one will come, some days. Or won't come for hours.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2022/dec/21/nhs-ambulance-workers-strike-england-wales-latest-news-updates?page=with:block-63a2d75d8f083d29b407d175

All my family is in the UK and my spouse is from the UK. I love it there. Socialized medicine has helped our family tremendously over the years and thanks to the NHS and socialized medicine, my beloved in-laws got huge amounts of medical care and medications (for ongoing issues over many years, like insulin for diabetes and meds for chronic conditions) for FREE. But I also know the British system has massive waits for anything that is not urgent, like hip replacement surgery etc. Or your sleep study, OP.

Do not fool yourself into believing things are perfect in other countries. I despise the American system of health insurance tied to employment and costing vast sums for the insured. I still think other systems do provide care that does not put people into poverty. But I also warn you that other systems have other issues, like delays that cost lives. Not just ambulance delays, either, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good idea! What country whiter than the USA are you looking to move to?

Canada or Northern Europe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go ahead and move to Canada, or Europe....enjoy your months-long wait to see your doctor for a max of 15 mins.

If an American moves to these countries - do they even qualify for national health care as a non-citizen?

depends. You can pay into the system to use it.

We looked into it for the UK. It's about $3500 for 3 years.

Regardless, you can pay private for everything because health care in general is cheaper every where else compared to the US. No insurance premiums needed.

We spend $20K in the US for medical care here, and most years, we don't even hit the deductible. It makes me sick to think of how much money we waste on health insurance that we use maybe a few times a year. But, we don't want to go without just in case we get a serious illness. It's f*n scary here. We are in our 50s, and we have talked about going to the UK if we want to retire early because the cost of private insurance here is stupid expensive. We would use NHS for general checkups, non-urgent issues, and pay privately for things we don't want to wait for.

My spouse is a Brit.

I posted just above. My spouse is also British. Read up on what has been happening with ambulances. And with the fact it's very difficult to get even remotely non-emergency operations done on the NHS. LIke I say above: The NHS has helped my family tremendously (and was helpful to us a few times when traveling over there). But don't have rose-colored glasses on re: speed of service, availability of services everywhere, or availability of non-emergency services. We know people who have waited a year or more for surgeries including knee replacement. Again, I'm actually pro-socialized-medicine! But you yourself say it, PP: You would pay privately for what you dont' want to wait for. That's great for you but it's a position of immense privilege that most in the UK do not have. And you might be shocked at how very expensive those private pay treatments or operations would be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP, if you're still reading: You need to read this, from today's Guardian newspaper (a UK paper). A doctor talks about the insane situation of having to drive a patient from the doctor's office to the emergency room because an ambulance would have taken at least an HOUR to arrive at the office:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/24/terrifying-gp-dash-a-and-e-ambulance-delays-nhs-waiting

Also try this one though it's a bigger-picture story. Ambulance workers are striking in the UK. Yes, going on strike, as in, you can call but no one will come, some days. Or won't come for hours.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2022/dec/21/nhs-ambulance-workers-strike-england-wales-latest-news-updates?page=with:block-63a2d75d8f083d29b407d175

All my family is in the UK and my spouse is from the UK. I love it there. Socialized medicine has helped our family tremendously over the years and thanks to the NHS and socialized medicine, my beloved in-laws got huge amounts of medical care and medications (for ongoing issues over many years, like insulin for diabetes and meds for chronic conditions) for FREE. But I also know the British system has massive waits for anything that is not urgent, like hip replacement surgery etc. Or your sleep study, OP.

Do not fool yourself into believing things are perfect in other countries. I despise the American system of health insurance tied to employment and costing vast sums for the insured. I still think other systems do provide care that does not put people into poverty. But I also warn you that other systems have other issues, like delays that cost lives. Not just ambulance delays, either, OP.

You realize that the recent issues with NHS were manufactured by the Tories, right? They’ve slashed funding to the NHS, instituted hiring freezes, and Brexit tossed out a bunch of nurses/doctors who came from Eastern Europe.

The NHS would be perfectly fine if not for purposeful hamstringing by the Tories, who already taking positions with private health insurance companies waiting in the wings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go ahead and move to Canada, or Europe....enjoy your months-long wait to see your doctor for a max of 15 mins.

If an American moves to these countries - do they even qualify for national health care as a non-citizen?

depends. You can pay into the system to use it.

We looked into it for the UK. It's about $3500 for 3 years.

Regardless, you can pay private for everything because health care in general is cheaper every where else compared to the US. No insurance premiums needed.

We spend $20K in the US for medical care here, and most years, we don't even hit the deductible. It makes me sick to think of how much money we waste on health insurance that we use maybe a few times a year. But, we don't want to go without just in case we get a serious illness. It's f*n scary here. We are in our 50s, and we have talked about going to the UK if we want to retire early because the cost of private insurance here is stupid expensive. We would use NHS for general checkups, non-urgent issues, and pay privately for things we don't want to wait for.

My spouse is a Brit.

I posted just above. My spouse is also British. Read up on what has been happening with ambulances. And with the fact it's very difficult to get even remotely non-emergency operations done on the NHS. LIke I say above: The NHS has helped my family tremendously (and was helpful to us a few times when traveling over there). But don't have rose-colored glasses on re: speed of service, availability of services everywhere, or availability of non-emergency services. We know people who have waited a year or more for surgeries including knee replacement. Again, I'm actually pro-socialized-medicine! But you yourself say it, PP: You would pay privately for what you dont' want to wait for. That's great for you but it's a position of immense privilege that most in the UK do not have. And you might be shocked at how very expensive those private pay treatments or operations would be.

Yes, I know that's happening now.

Have you ever read about people dying here in the US because they have no access to healthcare? It happens. It happened to my cousin. People don't go see doctors because they can't afford it, and by the time they do get around it because they are in agony, it's too late.

Do you hear about how people go bankrupt here because they can't pay their medical bills? Does that happen in the UK?

Yes, I'm privileged to pay private in the UK if I need to. Do you think most Brits could afford paying $20K per year for health insurance that they barely use here in the US? I don't think so.

ITA, no system is perfect, but if you have money, you can buy great healthcare anywhere. But the vast majority of people don't have that kind of wealth. Hence, the need for some type of universal healthcare.

BTW, I have looked into private care costs in the UK. It isn't that cheap, but it's cheaper, plus you don't have to pay for health insurance premiums like we do here, which is ridiculously expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spend a day in a Canadian hospital. Especially in maritime Canada - shit health care, long waits, and the hospital is more like 1980 when you walk in. Horrible waits for specialists. Socialized medicine is not what we want.

This.

It is a disaster. It's always been a fun pasttime for people on DCUM to trash the US in any and every way possible, but anyone with family overseas will tell you that no country has health care figured out.

As far as things go, the US does a pretty good job.

But, continue on bashing the US!

[Anonymous]

OP, have you considered the cost of a sleep study, in relation to the cost of a trip to Thailand?

A quick google tells me that sleep studies are about $500-3000.

As far as Canada-I live in Florida and this time of year, there are tons of Canadian seniors down here going to eye drs, orthopedic docs and heart docs. We have tons of those who cater to those folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go ahead and move to Canada, or Europe....enjoy your months-long wait to see your doctor for a max of 15 mins.

If an American moves to these countries - do they even qualify for national health care as a non-citizen?

depends. You can pay into the system to use it.

We looked into it for the UK. It's about $3500 for 3 years.

Regardless, you can pay private for everything because health care in general is cheaper every where else compared to the US. No insurance premiums needed.

We spend $20K in the US for medical care here, and most years, we don't even hit the deductible. It makes me sick to think of how much money we waste on health insurance that we use maybe a few times a year. But, we don't want to go without just in case we get a serious illness. It's f*n scary here. We are in our 50s, and we have talked about going to the UK if we want to retire early because the cost of private insurance here is stupid expensive. We would use NHS for general checkups, non-urgent issues, and pay privately for things we don't want to wait for.

My spouse is a Brit.

I posted just above. My spouse is also British. Read up on what has been happening with ambulances. And with the fact it's very difficult to get even remotely non-emergency operations done on the NHS. LIke I say above: The NHS has helped my family tremendously (and was helpful to us a few times when traveling over there). But don't have rose-colored glasses on re: speed of service, availability of services everywhere, or availability of non-emergency services. We know people who have waited a year or more for surgeries including knee replacement. Again, I'm actually pro-socialized-medicine! But you yourself say it, PP: You would pay privately for what you dont' want to wait for. That's great for you but it's a position of immense privilege that most in the UK do not have. And you might be shocked at how very expensive those private pay treatments or operations would be.

Yes, I know that's happening now.

Have you ever read about people dying here in the US because they have no access to healthcare? It happens. It happened to my cousin. People don't go see doctors because they can't afford it, and by the time they do get around it because they are in agony, it's too late.

Do you hear about how people go bankrupt here because they can't pay their medical bills? Does that happen in the UK?

Yes, I'm privileged to pay private in the UK if I need to. Do you think most Brits could afford paying $20K per year for health insurance that they barely use here in the US? I don't think so.

ITA, no system is perfect, but if you have money, you can buy great healthcare anywhere. But the vast majority of people don't have that kind of wealth. Hence, the need for some type of universal healthcare.

BTW, I have looked into private care costs in the UK. It isn't that cheap, but it's cheaper, plus you don't have to pay for health insurance premiums like we do here, which is ridiculously expensive.

You aren’t factoring in the higher income taxes you pay in the UK.

[Anonymous]

I hear you on basic healthcare, but you do know that if you need anything specialized, you really want to be in the US, right? I lived in Europe - the wait to get a diagnostic MRI was insane. Terrifyingly long, especially when you're potentially expecting bad news.