NHS and US medical insurance question…?
Right it been bugging me for years this one! Do we in the UK pay for our medical with the NHS through paying National Insurance Because, how do the self employed pay because a lot of them don’t pay NI. Plus how do the people in the US pay for medical do they pay private companies or what?
Also I recently gave birth here in the UK and was wondering If had given birth in th US how much would it have cost me, say if I had no medical insurance?
August 19th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
A lot of self-employed people don’t pay NI but a lot of them do too! Benefit scroungers don’t pay NI either but they use it more than me (I’m a tax and NI payer).
August 19th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Having a baby costs around 2000 pounds in Japan. Taxes are a lot less here, I think your being ripped off big time!
August 19th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
We pay through NI contributions. Its very expensive to pay to have a baby in the USA. Difficult to give a price because it depends on the area and/or hospital.
August 19th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Yes we do pay for the NHS through NI and you are mistaken – self employed people do still make NI contributions.
August 19th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Your NI stamp was originally for NHS and pension provision but now its mostly about pension. Income tax also contributes toward NHS costs. My husband is self employed and he pays a reduced NI stamp as he has opted out of the pension contribution – to not pay NI at all your income has to be below a certain level to be exempt.
I have relatives that live in the US and they have private medical insurance but there are state funded hospitals but your costs are still assessed against your income so you would still be billed.