Before I say anything else, I would like to say thank you to the UK for giving me the opportunity that I never would've had in the US. Thank you, UK, for making me feel like I'm worth something; I truly felt alive.
We had two children born in the UK. Each birth had complications leading to weeks of hospitalizations. Kids are thankfully 100% healthy. Nurses came to our house to teach us about parenting/breastfeeding/therapy. This was at ZERO out-of-pocket costs.
All child-related prescriptions are 100% free. All other prescriptions are a flat £9.35 ($13).
I received ZERO bills in the mail. I spent ZERO hours on the phone paying bills. I never once pulled out a credit card. I didn’t pay a co-pay. We walked out of the hospital without any impact on our finances.
My wife had 39 weeks of paid maternity (parental) leave with the remaining unpaid up to a year – which we were able to split – 9 months her, 3 months me. I had 2 weeks of paid paternity leave. We both accrued vacation time during our parental leave.
When I think of infants in the US going to daycare at 6-12 weeks, I feel disgusted. I don’t want to judge a parent’s decision to get help raising a child, or decide to go back to work, but being forced to leave your child at daycare at this age or lose a job or financial security is an embarrassment for such a wealthy country and not healthy for our children or parents.
BTW, my wife and I both had a statutory minimum of 28 days vacation a year. Everyone in the UK is entitled to this time. When our child was 3, we got 30 hours of free childcare a week.
I write this from a desk covered in doctor bills after spending a few hours being put on hold, and I have “good” insurance. “I’m sorry, our system doesn’t accept HSA debit cards”. “What will the actual bill be after we see the doctor?” “So this doctor is in-network, but the Premier network and not PPO?”
The amount of admin we need to do now is absolutely insane.
Also, our taxes were almost the same in the UK as they are in the US. The incremental increase is nothing compared to the real costs of healthcare we pay in the US.
I, along with thousands of other expats like myself, have experienced a different way of managing healthcare first-hand. Was every experience perfect? No. Which healthcare system is better? It’s not even remotely close.
It’s not just the cost. It’s the time. The paperwork. It’s the feeling that I’m not optimizing for cost-saving. It’s the weird transactions around my family's illnesses.
Is this the best America can do?