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Wow, only £300? Private insurance in the US is so much more than that. When you get care, is a portion paid by NHS and the remainder from the private company? O

Wow, only £300? Private insurance in the US is so much more than that. When you get care, is a portion paid by NHS and the remainder from the private company? Or maybe the existence of NHS puts healthcare costs much less than that in the US.

sgjohnson 5y ago
> When you get care, is a portion paid by NHS and the remainder from the private company? It’d be NHS if the non-urgent treatment would be immediately available from them (which is basically never), otherwise I’d be sent to a private hospital. > Or maybe the existence of NHS puts healthcare costs much less than that in the US. This probably helps, but the US healthcare costs are just fucked for no good reason. I like to look at South Korea as an example of reasonable costs in a healthcare system that’s 100% private (the government just picks up the tab afterwards).
- CRConrad 5y ago
  > the US healthcare costs are just fucked for no good reason. Amen to that. > I like to look at South Korea as an example of reasonable costs in a healthcare system that’s 100% private (the government just picks up the tab afterwards). From Britain you don't have to look that far abroad for this: Germany would suffice, AIUI, or maybe even just across the Channel to France. (But, hey, congrats on leaving the club of civilised nations.)
pmyteh 5y ago
It's mostly lower because the scope of private medicine in the UK is generally a lot narrower: it's used for getting fast access to specialists and elective surgery, and a nicer room in hospital. If there's a serious complication when having your private hip replacement you're probably going by ambulance to an NHS ICU. Ditto emergency care. So a lot of the expensive parts of healthcare fall on the NHS even if you have private cover. Something a little similar happens in the US: as a visitor you can get travel insurance including private medical care for much less than regular private insurance, because the insurance company isn't on the hook for long-term problems, just for a medevac back to your home country.

sgjohnson 5y ago

> When you get care, is a portion paid by NHS and the remainder from the private company? It’d be NHS if the non-urgent treatment would be immediately available from them (which is basically never), otherwise I’d be sent to a private hospital. > Or maybe the existence of NHS puts healthcare costs much less than that in the US. This probably helps, but the US healthcare costs are just fucked for no good reason. I like to look at South Korea as an example of reasonable costs in a healthcare system that’s 100% private (the government just picks up the tab afterwards).

CRConrad 5y ago
> the US healthcare costs are just fucked for no good reason. Amen to that. > I like to look at South Korea as an example of reasonable costs in a healthcare system that’s 100% private (the government just picks up the tab afterwards). From Britain you don't have to look that far abroad for this: Germany would suffice, AIUI, or maybe even just across the Channel to France. (But, hey, congrats on leaving the club of civilised nations.)

pmyteh 5y ago

It's mostly lower because the scope of private medicine in the UK is generally a lot narrower: it's used for getting fast access to specialists and elective surgery, and a nicer room in hospital. If there's a serious complication when having your private hip replacement you're probably going by ambulance to an NHS ICU. Ditto emergency care. So a lot of the expensive parts of healthcare fall on the NHS even if you have private cover. Something a little similar happens in the US: as a visitor you can get travel insurance including private medical care for much less than regular private insurance, because the insurance company isn't on the hook for long-term problems, just for a medevac back to your home country.