rbhouston@aol.com wrote:
> ...this retirement travel plan, where the wife and I, in a
> few years, close up the house here for a year and move to
> England, rent a small flat, buy a used car, and travel extensively
We, too, have thought of doing the same. What keeps us here are the
children and the grandchildren, for it would be too difficult to be
separated from them that long.
> One question my daughter asked, what about medical care. I
> understand it is socialized medicine, but how does that work for
> tourists?
During the election campaign of 1997, I came down with a very sore
throat, etc. A friend got me in to see her GP, and he told me that
because I was "tourist", he would be paid more by the government than
he would for a regular patient. How different it was from seeing a GP
in this country. I was taken to his spacious oak paneled and bookshelf
lined "office" where he sat behind his massive oak desk taking down my
details. Only then did he have me get up on the wood and upholstered
exam table for a closer look. I have to believe that was not the
typical visit to an English doctor's office.
Because it is "socialized medicine" does not mean it is "free". Every
worker there has to pay "National Insurance" based on their salary. I
was comparing costs with friends and relatives over there, and many of
them found they were paying more for their National Insurance than I was
for an HMO here. Of course, there is also the horrendous waiting
lists. When I had my recent surgery, the surgeon had trained at London
Hospital and guaranteed I would have waited a minimum of 6-8 months for
the same surgery in England.
> I'm doubting our medical insurance from the states would be
> any good there.
Many in England are now obtaining private health insurance, and that may
be an option for you. I doubt that a year's stay would qualify you as a
"tourist". For short periods, you can obtain travel medical insurance
from companies in this country.
Buster Evans
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