Healthcare in the US vs. the U.K

[Tiff]

Do you have to pay interest if you sign up for care credit and the monthly bills? I just wonder as if you did have to pay interest you could theoretically be paying those bills for the rest of your life.

 

[deafgal]

Sadly, yes. But the first year is interest free, i believe. edited: or according to the site , promotional period..i guess this mean paying off in time that you signed up for. Like you signed up to pay it off within 12 months, it will be interest free until then.

 

[special_kala]

Makes me wonder...what if we didn't have a credit card?

well, they do accept cash, cashier's check, bank card. oh no worries, they will get your money.

What if you dont have the money?

 

[Tasha]

Makes me wonder...what if we didn't have a credit card?

well, they do accept cash, cashier's check, bank card. oh no worries, they will get your money.

What if you dont have the money?

Then you have to pay it back monthly, with interest.

 

[JASMAK]

Makes me wonder...what if we didn't have a credit card?

well, they do accept cash, cashier's check, bank card. oh no worries, they will get your money.

What if you dont have the money?

Then you have to pay it back monthly, with interest.

This is when I was laying on the beach with a broken back still...the paramedics needed my credit card number FIRST.

 

[deafgal]

If you tell them you don't have any money, they still have to treat you. It Is The law. It is annoying when they ask a bunch of questions but it does get couple things accomplish...they can check your health status when you can answer the question effectively so they can determine how serious your situation is (yeah, I know there are other ways to check for these..) and get the informations they need.

 

[hongkongchick]

Makes me wonder...what if we didn't have a credit card?

well, they do accept cash, cashier's check, bank card. oh no worries, they will get your money.

What if you dont have the money?

Then you have to pay it back monthly, with interest.

I think they can also take it out from your tax return.

 

[MommyJogger]

Makes me wonder...what if we didn't have a credit card?

well, they do accept cash, cashier's check, bank card. oh no worries, they will get your money.

What if you dont have the money?

Then you have to pay it back monthly, with interest.

I think they can also take it out from your tax return.

This is true if you get a return. I know it was a "thing" when I was growing up to make sure that you over-claim if you don't have insurance so that you don't have a return and have to pay in each year-- just so that if the worst happens, they can't as easily get the money from you if you can't afford it. We were pretty dirt poor in a rural area and I remember my mom giving completely false information when I had to be admitted as a child for possible meningitis when my father was in a 1 week span between jobs, therefore a 1 week span with no insurance. My parents could barely put food on the table at the time, there's no way they could have afforded that hospital bill. It was pretty easy ~20 years ago to dodge a hospital bill. I imagine it's much more difficult nowadays.

 

[Rhio92]

Makes me wonder...what if we didn't have a credit card?

well, they do accept cash, cashier's check, bank card. oh no worries, they will get your money.

What if you dont have the money?

Then you have to pay it back monthly, with interest.

This is when I was laying on the beach with a broken back still...the paramedics needed my credit card number FIRST.

that's disgusting. Not to mention petrifying.

 

[hongkongchick]

This is true if you get a return. I know it was a "thing" when I was growing up to make sure that you over-claim if you don't have insurance so that you don't have a return and have to pay in each year-- just so that if the worst happens, they can't as easily get the money from you if you can't afford it. We were pretty dirt poor in a rural area and I remember my mom giving completely false information when I had to be admitted as a child for possible meningitis when my father was in a 1 week span between jobs, therefore a 1 week span with no insurance. My parents could barely put food on the table at the time, there's no way they could have afforded that hospital bill. It was pretty easy ~20 years ago to dodge a hospital bill. I imagine it's much more difficult nowadays.

It was to my surprise when i received a notice that informed me that whatever amount of money i owed to the university (which i graduated years ago) will be taken from my hubby's tax return (i didn't work so i don't have a tax return, and because i got married, they were able to take it from hubby's) i thought it was BS! they never sent me a notice informing me that i owed them money, then all of a sudden, they kept the money from my husband's tax return?! wow. i just couldn't believe they can do anything and will do anything to get their money.

 

[JASMAK]

Makes me wonder...what if we didn't have a credit card?

well, they do accept cash, cashier's check, bank card. oh no worries, they will get your money.

What if you dont have the money?

Then you have to pay it back monthly, with interest.

This is when I was laying on the beach with a broken back still...the paramedics needed my credit card number FIRST.

that's disgusting. Not to mention petrifying.

It was very confusing but my hubby was with me. Thankfully I was fully insured through my work

 

[minties]

I think I'll keep on enjoying the national heal system we have in NZ. The USA have higher infant mortality rates. Higher obesity rates. Lower life expectancy. More percentage of population living with AIDS/HIV. I'm sick of hearing that having an OB and insurance is so much better than having midwives and an NHS. Seems to be working ok here!

 

[Tiff]

Who has been saying that, Minties? Most of my pregnant friends right now have all opted to go with midwives rather than OBs

 

[MommyJogger]

I think I'll keep on enjoying the national heal system we have in NZ. The USA have higher infant mortality rates. Higher obesity rates. Lower life expectancy. More percentage of population living with AIDS/HIV. I'm sick of hearing that having an OB and insurance is so much better than having midwives and an NHS. Seems to be working ok here!

I guess the grass is always greener? I never hear anyone here saying that OBs are better... well, the OBs might be saying it, lol. Midwife care is very sought-after here, but very hard to come by.

 

[minties]

Not from this website so much (though there has been a few threads over the years), mainly from online friends I have in the united states.

I am actually shocked that the united states have roughly half as many patient beds per head of population than we do here in NZ. I would think it would be a big money making scheme to get people into hospitals? The maternal death rate is also much higher. And much more is spent on healthcare...where is it going? 16.2% of the GPD is spent on health care in the US, here it is 9.7% and the UK is 9.3%. The UK seem to be doing quite well compared to the US in all areas too.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I am very glad for uk NHS dentist right now!

 

[emyandpotato]

The thought of losing the NHS is petrifying. I feel very sorry for people in the US who cannot afford insurance. In fact I feel sorry for people even needing insurance at all, especially with the amount I've heard it costs.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

The thought of losing the NHS is petrifying. I feel very sorry for people in the US who cannot afford insurance. In fact I feel sorry for people even needing insurance at all, especially with the amount I've heard it costs.

Same here. I have had to use emergency nhs dentist twice in a week both getting me antibiotics and same day appointments x

 

[Lady_Bee]

Having lived in both countries, I personally vastly prefer the system in the UK. I've lived in the US since summer of 2012. Since then I have had to take my son to the ER hete twice and it's so expensive! And I hate the billing system and how opaque it always is. Feels like they are always trying to catch you out somehow and charge more. D: Maybe I've just been unlucky though.

I also feel that I got a similar - perhaps better - quality of care in the UK in general. I definitely feel pregnant women and new mothers are way better looked after in the UK.

 

[vermeil]

Here is what we have in Quebec (french Canada):

-free universal healthcare as the rest of Canada of course; we can see any doctor or specialist we want
-a year of paid parental leave - mother gets 70% of her income for 4 months, then 55% of a parent`s (whichever stays home) for 8 months
-7$/day high quality public daycare
-education is almost free
-3 cycles of fertility treatments free until age 42

I lived in the states for 2 years, found my work insurance plan confusing and expensive - it`s one of the main reasons i moved back to Canada. the healthcare was just a mess. Insurance and clinics seemed like a huge money making scheme off the backs of ordinary people, charging what they want. Without any controls in the name of capitalism these companies hold people hostage. I`ve had friends be billed 500$ for a saline drip - it`s water with a bit of salt, costs them pennies!

healthcare I have received:

in 2010 my son was a micro preemie. He was given 25% survival odds. The ethics committee met with us for hours, explaining what sort of life he might have. Once we decided to try to save him, and he was born his care was EXCELLENT, we felt treated like royalty, with respect and compassion. He had a 1:1 nurse for two weeks when he was most fragile (and would go into cardiac arrest daily..). He was in nicu for 100+ days. He is now a healthy, thriving 3 year old thanks to top notch care. (pics in sig)

His care cost the system 1500$ a day (i did my research). In the states it would have been 3500$ a day. I can`t imagine living in the us and having to worry about costs with such a sick baby. I have self-employed friends in the US who pay 500$ a month for crappy plans; if this happened to them they would have to sell their house

my 3 month old daughter was conceived via IVF on our first cycle at no cost. The reason fertility treatments are free is because the government is trying to save on nicu costs as my son went through. The biggest cause of preemies is multiple births and the biggest cause of that is... fertility treatments. THere is now legislation which forces fertility clinics to only transfer one embryo (unless medically warranted). Seems natural they pay for the 5000$ cycle if they are going to dictate this. Since this new program has been put in place, the birth rate of multiples has plummeted, and so have nicu costs. Less babies born premature.

My son goes to a public, top quality 7$/day daycare. The government covers the rest. Child poverty rates have dropped by half since the program was introduced, since it allows single parents to work or go to school instead of staying home with their child and receive public assistance. Also parents can choose to go back to work, who then pay income tax which pays into the system.

I went to a walk in clinic last week for a sinus infection. One hour wait to see doc, another hour wait for an xray, doc gave me prescription, was done with antibiotics in my hands within 4 hours.

Of course the system isnt perfect, if I had a family doctor before falling pregnant with my son (mine had retired two years back, I moved and was having trouble finding a new one) I would have known I have high blood pressure; if this had been treated before being pregnant he MIGHT not have been such a preemie. we'll never know.

I really think health and education should be a nation`s top priority. Sure I pay more taxes (not even that much more than i did in the US!) but I can sleep better at night knowing i don`t have to worry about health or my children`s educations.

People in Canda are generally far happier than in the US and I think these factors are a big part