Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenRivet
it costs a lot to cover a family of four with medical, vision and dental.
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Of course, I didn't take into consideration that it's not a state or local government defined rate. One thing I will concede in regards to our health service is that things like dental and vision are generally not covered by the National Insurance rate, so when I eventually go back to the dentist or opticians I will have to pay for this, and the rates are, not particularly low. There are options on the table for those on the social and that, but for the most part you do have to pay. So there's that. Obviously we have health insurance over here too which also (sometimes) can go towards those kinds of bills, and you do also have to pay a flat rate for prescription medicine unless you meet certain criteria, for example if you have a specified medical condition and have a valid medical exemption certificate, these conditions include diabetes, epilepsy, cancer and/or other physical conditions which prevent you from going outside without assistance. Also, if you reach pension age then prescriptions are free. The current flat rate is £8.40, which is about 10 dollars per item.
So, your family of four in the UK would have the adult workers pay in their National Insurance contribution, depending on your wage, if the kids are under 16 then the prescriptions are free, so the main thing you'd be paying for would be dental and optical treatments. You can get free eye tests in some places, but actually getting the lenses and frames, you're probably looking at anything up to and over £100 ($123 dollars), as for a dental check-up...off the top of my head, the last time I went (which was too long ago...really need to get back) was between £40-60 ($49-74) so outside of your National Insurance contribution you're looking at about $200 per person per appointment, and that's just basic stuff in regards to the dentist, the opticians would probably be lower for just check-ups, but in regards to lense replacement and that, you're looking at the higher end of the scale obviously.
Now National Insurance contribution rates vary wildly, I don't know what you bring in as a family, so I'll base it on the UK average income which is £26,500 per year ($32,111) which works out at around £2208 a month, which means that the contribution is 13.8% which is £305 approximately. So you're probably looking at around £400-500 per month expenses on medical coverage in the UK for yourself, which is around 20-25%. Of course, the two kids would not need to pay into the NI until they start work, so you can deduct that £305 each for them, but you'd still have to pay for dental and opticians as the need arose and when they get over 16 then you'll also need to pay prescription charges, although if it's long-term medication then you'll usually get enough to cover a months supply, so that's £8.40 per month, depending on the condition of course.
So, at the end of all that rabbit, there's some parity there in our two systems, but there are also some differences, and I must admit I still can't get my head around the American healthcare system, especially when I see some of the hospital bills, and some of the really stupid stuff that people get charged for, but that's something that you tend to only see negative examples of, so that does present a skewed image somewhat.