Greetings From Across The Pond

Tim_Hopkins

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Visited diabetes.co.uk looking for updated news about diabetes research and progress improving diabetes management. Diagnosed September 21, 1968 at the age of 14. Juvenile diabetes was what my condition was called. Graduated from combining Regular and NPH insulin to separate injections of Humalog and Basaglar. I feel awfully lucky to be alive and well. Played soccer all through high school and college. Stayed in shape by working as a peanut vendor at major league baseball games at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN. Also worked Minnesota Vikings and assorted other events. It was fun vending peanuts at two Rolling Stones concerts. Just five years ago I joined a diabetic support group in south Minneapolis. I'm the only type 1 diabetic in the group. My successful experience managing diabetes for so long led to me becoming the facilitator of our weekly meetings. I learn a great deal from the type 2 diabetics in our group. The greatest concern for diabetics in the U.S. is the tremendous cost of all aspects of diabetes management. Unfortunately the Trump administration is set on destroying Obamacare. If they succeed I'm looking for a more affordable nation to live in with diabetes. My biggest health problem comes from hypoglycemia unawareness. I do pretty well by testing my blood sugar at least eight times a day.
 

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
Hello and welcome to the forum. There are quite a number of your countrymen here. Well done on such a great job of managing your T1 successfully and for the support and advice you give at your sessions.
 

NewTD2

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,563
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Visited diabetes.co.uk looking for updated news about diabetes research and progress improving diabetes management. Diagnosed September 21, 1968 at the age of 14. Juvenile diabetes was what my condition was called. Graduated from combining Regular and NPH insulin to separate injections of Humalog and Basaglar. I feel awfully lucky to be alive and well. Played soccer all through high school and college. Stayed in shape by working as a peanut vendor at major league baseball games at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN. Also worked Minnesota Vikings and assorted other events. It was fun vending peanuts at two Rolling Stones concerts. Just five years ago I joined a diabetic support group in south Minneapolis. I'm the only type 1 diabetic in the group. My successful experience managing diabetes for so long led to me becoming the facilitator of our weekly meetings. I learn a great deal from the type 2 diabetics in our group. The greatest concern for diabetics in the U.S. is the tremendous cost of all aspects of diabetes management. Unfortunately the Trump administration is set on destroying Obamacare. If they succeed I'm looking for a more affordable nation to live in with diabetes. My biggest health problem comes from hypoglycemia unawareness. I do pretty well by testing my blood sugar at least eight times a day.

Best to relocate to the UK for our great healthcare service. It’s not perfect but at least it’s absolutely free!
 

Grateful

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,398
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Best to relocate to the UK for our great healthcare service. It’s not perfect but at least it’s absolutely free!

If you are a non-EEA national (for instance, if you are American) and relocate to the UK on the usual residence visa, you (or your employer) will pay what is called the "NHS surcharge" of 200 pounds per year to access NHS services. This applies every year for the first five years that you are in the UK. If you then obtain what is called "leave to remain" at the end of the five years (the equivalent of what Americans call "permanent residence"), then you will no longer have to pay the NHS surcharge from then onwards.

Non-EEA foreign students also pay the NHS fee but it is a bit lower (150 pounds per year).

Any way you look at it, it is "a bargain" for the individual involved. I am a Brit living in America. My wife and I are about 60 years old. We are self-employed and pay for our own health insurance, which is $1,215 per month ($14,580 per year). That amounts to about 5,500 pounds per year, per person. On top of that, we have "co-pays" every time we see the doctor and with many tests and procedures. To my horror, this year we have already paid nearly $10,000 for the "co-pays" and the "patient responsibility" portions of the bills.

(Edited later to correct the GBP conversion.)
 

Granny_grump_

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,105
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Dishonesty lies and thieves and online Bullies!!!
If you are a non-EEA national (for instance, if you are American) and relocate to the UK on the usual residence visa, you (or your employer) will pay what is called the "NHS surcharge" of 200 pounds per year to access NHS services. This applies every year for the first five years that you are in the UK. If you then obtain what is called "leave to remain" at the end of the five years (the equivalent of what Americans call "permanent residence"), then you will no longer have to pay the NHS surcharge from then onwards.

Non-EEA foreign students also pay the NHS fee but it is a bit lower (150 pounds per year).

Any way you look at it, it is "a bargain" for the individual involved. I am a Brit living in America. My wife and I are about 60 years old. We are self-employed and pay for our own health insurance, which is $1,215 per month ($14,580 per year). That amounts to about 5,500 pounds per year, per person. On top of that, we have "co-pays" every time we see the doctor and with many tests and procedures. To my horror, this year we have already paid nearly $10,000 for the "co-pays" and the "patient responsibility" portions of the bills.

(Edited later to correct the GBP conversion.)
@Grateful Thats some bill you both pay thank goodness for our NHS,we may pay taxes To subsidies the cost of treatment but we don't have huge bills at the end of it like yourselves, it's a good job you are able to afford it, but what happens when you both retire do you still have all those costs to bare? K
 

Alexandra100

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,738
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Any way you look at it, it is "a bargain" for the individual involved.
Too right! I suffer from sleep apnoeia. Because it is 50% / 50% obstructive and central, the cheaper CPAP machine that costs just a few hundred pounds was considered inadequate, so I have been issued with a special "ventilator" costing between 3 & 4 £THOUSAND!!! Plus of course I had to have a mask costing over £100, and the first one I was given didn't fit well, so they gave me another model. I felt rather odd walking out of the hospital and catching the bus with all this kit in a shoulder bag. They did give me a gentle warning not to leave it lying around at the station, as someone might steal it under the impression that it was a laptop.

I'm so sorry you have all these terrible expenses on top of the stresses involved in health problems.
 

Granny_grump_

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,105
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Dishonesty lies and thieves and online Bullies!!!
Too right! I suffer from sleep apnoeia. Because it is 50% / 50% obstructive and central, the cheaper CPAP machine that costs just a few hundred pounds was considered inadequate, so I have been issued with a special "ventilator" costing between 3 & 4 £THOUSAND!!! Plus of course I had to have a mask costing over £100, and the first one I was given didn't fit well, so they gave me another model. I felt rather odd walking out of the hospital and catching the bus with all this kit in a shoulder bag. They did give me a gentle warning not to leave it lying around at the station, as someone might steal it under the impression that it was a laptop.

I'm so sorry you have all these terrible expenses on top of the stresses involved in health problems.
Good grief how the hell does people afford bills like those, it sounds a nightmare, the stress alone of being ill and then knowing your facing huge sums of money to pay for treatment why is Trump hell bent on doing away with Obama care. Don't tell me it has to do with the huge costs,but what do you do if you cannot afford the costs? It doesn't bare thinking about! K
Just looked at your profile and you live I believe in UK if so how come you had to pay for these items,I thought you must live in America or similar place where you had to pay for treatment?
 

Alexandra100

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,738
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Good grief how the hell does people afford bills like those, it sounds a nightmare, the stress alone of being ill and then knowing your facing huge sums of money to pay for treatment why is Trump hell bent on doing away with Obama care. Don't tell me it has to do with the huge costs,but what do you do if you cannot afford the costs? It doesn't bare thinking about! K
I recently listened to a fascinating "Outside" podcast about a young woman in America who unwittingly fed herself and her friends a risotto made with death cap mushrooms she had gathered. She had to have a liver transplant to save her life. Her friends had eaten less of the risotto and were not quite as ill, but still spent time in Intensive Care. Unfortunately they did not have medical insurance and they will be paying off the resulting bills for the rest of their lives.
 

Grateful

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,398
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@Grateful Thats some bill you both pay thank goodness for our NHS,we may pay taxes To subsidies the cost of treatment but we don't have huge bills at the end of it like yourselves, it's a good job you are able to afford it, but what happens when you both retire do you still have all those costs to bare? K

That is one of the bizarre things about the U.S. system. If you are age 65 or over: your healthcare is paid for largely by the government (the system is called "Medicare") although you will have to pay a few hundred dollars a month for some of the prescription benefits (it is called "Part B" or Part "C" or "Part D," I forget). Medicare dates back to the 1960s when, in Lyndon Johnson's America, the elderly were considered a "poorer" and neglected part of the population. It is universal and not means tested (exactly like the NHS).
 
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Granny_grump_

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,105
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Dishonesty lies and thieves and online Bullies!!!
That is one of the bizarre things about the U.S. system. If you are age 65 or over: your healthcare is paid for largely by the government (the system is called "Medicare") although you will have to pay a few hundred dollars a month for some of the prescription benefits (it is called "Part B" or Part "C" or "Part D," I forget). Medicare date back to the 1960s when, in Lyndon Johnson's America, the elderly were considered a "poorer" and neglected part of the population. It is universal and not means tested (exactly like the NHS).
Hi Grateful well at least their is some consolation for ageing I couldn't get my head around how people where expected to pay out these large sums of money especially when in retirement, it's a hard path to walk whichever way you look at it? K
 

Grateful

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,398
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
To continue on the subject of U.S. health care (again, to eliminate any confusion: I am British but have lived in America for nearly 20 years).

The vast majority of Americans have health insurance paid for largely by their employer (if they are of working age), or by Medicare (if they are age 65 or over). If they are self-employed, they have to buy their own health insurance (for details, see my example, provided a few posts back).

However, a huge number of people still fall through the cracks. This could be because they are unemployed. Or because (and this is common!!!) their employer does not provide health insurance (fairly typical for small businesses). Or because they are self-employed and either cannot afford to buy health insurance, or think they are invicible, and don't.

Obamacare is a valiant effort to plug that yawning gap, and in fact it successfully allowed tens of millions of people to get health insurance who did not have it before. It did this in part by expanding Medicaid (government health insurance for the poor). For others in the "middle class" (which, in America, refers to what in the UK would often include members of the "working class") it provided subsidies so that people who previously could not afford health insurance, were able to buy it on the private market. It is an immensely complex (silly, really) system but that is the best that was politically possible under the circumstances. It is still in effect (just) but the current administration will probably, eventually, kill it off.
 
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Granny_grump_

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,105
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Dishonesty lies and thieves and online Bullies!!!
To continue on the subject of U.S. health care (again, to eliminate any confusion: I am British but have lived in America for nearly 20 years).

The vast majority of Americans have health insurance paid for largely by their employer (if they are of working age), or by Medicare (if they are age 65 or over). If they are self-employed, they have to buy their own health insurance (for details, see my example, provided a few posts back).

However, a huge number of people still fall through the cracks. This could be because they are unemployed. Or because (and this is common!!!) their employer does not provide health insurance (fairly typical for small businesses). Or because they are self-employed and either cannot afford to buy health insurance, or think they are invicible, and don't.

Obamacare is a valiant effort to plug that yawning gap, and in fact it successfully allowed tens of millions of people to get health insurance who did not have it before. It did this in part by expanding Medicaid (government health insurance for the poor). For others in the "middle class" (which, in America, refers to what in the UK would often include members of the "working class") it provided subsidies so that people who previously could not afford health insurance, were able to buy it on the private market. It is an immensely complex (silly, really) system but that is the best that was politically possible under the circumstances. It is still in effect (just) but the current administration should, eventually, manage to kill it off.
Hi Grateful it must have been a huge learning curve when you moved to America and if you are fortunate to make it in America you can live the life but for the many who cannot afford health care it must be a nightmare! K
 

Grateful

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,398
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Unfortunately they did not have medical insurance and they will be paying off the resulting bills for the rest of their lives.

Or they will file personal bankruptcy and their bills will vanish in a puff of smoke. Huge medical bills are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States (about 62 percent of them, according to a Harvard study).
 

Grateful

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,398
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi Grateful it must have been a huge learning curve when you moved to America and if you are fortunate to make it in America you can live the life but for the many who cannot afford health care it must be a nightmare! K

Yes and no. In practice, if you turn up in an A&E in America with a life-threatening condition and no insurance, you will be treated (although they might shuffle you to a different hospital first). You will be deluged with bills later, but many people don't pay, since they cannot afford it!

You might be very surprised at the attitudes here. The first thing I did on arrival in America (the very day I arrived!) was pick up the phone and buy medical insurance. It was that important to me. But it is just not at the top of many people's list of priorities, partly because they don't seem to understand that they are only one major illness away from personal and financial disaster.

It is a different world here!
 

Grateful

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,398
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@Tim_Hopkins: Welcome to the forum and apologies for completely hijacking your thread. This is a great place for support and advice on diabetes!!
 

Granny_grump_

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,105
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Dishonesty lies and thieves and online Bullies!!!
Yes and no. In practice, if you turn up in an A&E in America with a life-threatening condition and no insurance, you will be treated (although they might shuffle you to a different hospital first). You will be deluged with bills later, but many people don't pay, since they cannot afford it!

You might be very surprised at the attitudes here. The first thing I did on arrival in America (the very day I arrived!) was pick up the phone and buy medical insurance. It was that important to me. But it is just not at the top of many people's list of priorities, partly because they don't seem to understand that they are only one major illness away from personal and financial disaster.

It is a different world here!
Hi Grateful at least you where the sensible one and I wish you both a worry free and healthy life, though I know you have health problems I do hope they don't get any worse for you, Take care and Good luck
I'll stick with visiting America living there is just too expensive,come to think of it visitings not cheap either! Ha ha! We have been a couple of times around 12 years ago. K