What does seem very unfair though, is that people like OH and myself, who have paid all our lives for the NHS through our taxes - are no longer entitled to treatment in the UK now we are resident in CH. We have to pay for private prescriptions and for private care, if we wish to avail ourselves of NHS care, even though we still have property in the UK and therefore an address there. Of course many Brits who are resident abroad do cheat and give their parents address, etc- and often get away with it (which does annoy me really- as we just couldn't do it ourselves- well we could, but we wouldn't!).
There is a huge debate going on at the moment re the treatment of people who are officially not entitled to free NHS treatment. Many people are furious that their taxes pay for the treatment of 'health tourists' or illegals. But others say it is best to treat illegals, as if untreated, with very contagious diseases like TB or HIV, the damage could be much worse (eg for the local population) or in the case of diseases like diabetes and blood pressure, a lot more expensive when they turn up as serious emergency cases due to non-treatment. There is conflicting information, even for health professionals.
They do work similarly. Provide some evidence they don't. They both have pre existing condition clauses, they both offer some kind of pregnancy cover with a long kick in period. Whether they pay out leaving you with a bill is down to individual cases but there are plenty of horror stories of bills arriving for people in CH not just in the UK.
If suicides were a real issue, then maybe mental health clinics wouldn't be so close to train tracks? Or maybe guns would be better regulated as Switzerland has the highest suicide rate in Europe?
I mean all they're doing is causing people in pain some real hardship. I asked my mother to send me a 200 tablet pack of paracetamol/acetaminophen and another 200 geltab pack of ibuprofen from Canada. According to the post regulations, there's nothing to stop her from sending it to me. And in the future, I won't have to deal with this BS if I'm ever injured again... Grumble.
Are there no public health clinics in the UK for the uninsured? I know that quite a few of these exist in Canada... they're technically for "anonymous" persons requiring anonymous care, but they're partially funded by public health and treat everyone regardless of residency, or health insurance benefit status.
As a very well-paid expatriate who doesnt need the NHS (probably similar to many on here), I don't think I am qualified to comment. The best thing Labour ever did was invent the NHS and despite its faults, it provides healthcare for most of the UK. It is currently being destroyed by the Condems.
Re the Swiss system its an administrative nightmare but offers choice and a good standard of care. Obamacare uses it as its model too.
You will get the last laugh when the UK revenue decides to tax those people as UK residents, if they claim to be resident then they probably are! They look at a huge amount of data, its only a matter of time.
When I fell down the stairs of a double-decker bus in London a year or so ago, I was taken to hospital by ambulance and treated there.
Inspite of giving the hospital my name and address in Switzerland, and telling them I was non-resident in the UK, no bill was received.
I presume the work involved in billing me was considered too arduous a task;
however, it's still not an experience I would like to repeat to check it out.
Your entitled to free emergency treatment.
Had you wanted a knee replacement it would not have been free.
Unfortunately in North America over-the-counter medications such as Advil or Tylenol are the rage and people tend to eat them like candy. Here in Switzerland, in order to avoid problems with the health insurances and in the patient's best interests, doctors try to avoid doling out painkillers without first checking the nature of patient's condition. Also repeat prescription may not be issued to patients who require further assessment and doctors need to see the patient to ensure the prescribing is still appropriate, this is particularly true for painkillers carrying potential serious side effects that can be devastating: liver failure caused by paracetamol overdose, ulcers of the stomach, bleeding, increased risk of hearing loss in women (caused by both ibuprofen & paracetamol), possibly one of the reasons why Swissmedic has not approved dispensing of such drugs in higher amount without prescription (regulated as B category).
Due to long-term adverse effect, you should avoid these drugs at high doses. If you have pain, you should talk to your doctor and find other avenues for relieving your pain. Just don't over-medicate yourself... Good luck!
But isn't there also an arrangement whereby you get your Swiss health insurance at a very reduced rate because of this?
I was going to say exactly this. As far as I know retired Brits living in Switzerland only have to pay the 10% of costs up to the maximum per year and they have a very low or zero deductible. It's unreasonable to expect to have free healthcare in the uk and free health insurance premiums here surely?
I do agree however that plenty of people knowingly take advantage of free NHS care when they are not entitled to it.
What is this arrangement? I thought one just paid the normal insurance premiums. Or have I misunderstood something?
They don't work similarly because of COST .
As far as I understand from previous posts, if you want choice in Switzerland, you simply get good insurance.
It won't cost that much, certainly absolutely nowhere near what it will in Britain.
In Britain you first have to pay tax for NHS, then have to pay for private insurance (even if only as taxable benefit through work).
But private insurance offered through work is mostly pretty rubbish these days. It will certainly not cover pregnancy related or probably even cancer or other serious illness. So it's basically for physio if you've got a bad back.
So if you want serious insurance you have to pay again, and at prohibitive cost. And it STILL won't cover pregnancy.
So if you want to choose your our obstetrician, which seems to me a fairly basic right of a woman, you are going to have pay out of pocket.
In my case £12k, which is beyond the ability of most Britons to pay.
So Swiss have choice. Most Brits don't, because the cost is prohibitive.
Why the best thing? Is it so vastly superior to the rest of Europe? No. Personally I'd swap British healthcare (NHS plus rip-off private) for just about any other system in Europe.
I don't understand this worship of the NHS. I really cringed during the Olympics opening ceremony.
It's an arrangement for British pensioners. There's a thread about it on here somewhere but can't search easily on my phone. Will try to find it later.
But without choice. And the problem is in defining need.
Only from age 65, so we had an almost 5 year gap, in our case. We now have a 300CHF excess and have to pay 10% of any treatment. Edit - you are right BM it was actually 3 1/2 years only - but if someone retires here at 60, they won't be able to claim until 65 (and in my case earlier as a dependent).
And also I have to ask whether you as a fan favour introducing an NHS-style system to Switzerland.