I'm an American living in the UK... here's why universal healthcare is not all roses

Many Americans look crossed nan pond pinch envy astatine nan truth nan UK has cosmopolitan healthcare - while viewing nan US strategy arsenic greedy and unforgiving. 

But those who person really moved to Britain and person first-hand acquisition of nan National Health Service (NHS) overgarment a very different picture.

DailyMail.com said to US expats who felt 'terrified' astir missing important screenings owed to abysmally agelong hold times. 

Many revealed they were shocked by 'free' healthcare not really being free and were blindsided by precocious taxes and other fees required by foreigners. 

However, others told DailyMail.com it made them consciousness much financially unafraid and little anxious astir seeking care. 

It comes arsenic nan NHS faces grim support ratings from UK citizens, pinch little than a 4th of group claiming they are satisfied pinch nan care. 

The main title among Britons is hold times, which person soared to grounds highs pursuing nan pandemic. 

Andrea Jones - who lived successful London for 8 years - learned this first-hand.

The master singer, 38, primitively from California, injured her vocal cords and was told she'd person to hold six months for beingness therapy.

She would not person been capable to make money without, truthful she had to salary for backstage attraction retired of her ain pocket. 

'I fundamentally had to salary for personification connected my ain because I didn't person nan clip to wait,' she told DailyMail.com. 

Physical therapy isn't nan only work facing agelong hold times. 

It takes astir 4 months to spot a dentist.

And for elective surgeries for illustration knee aliases hep replacement, British patients tin expect to hold arsenic agelong arsenic 4 months connected average, and up to 2 years - whereas nan mean hold clip successful nan US successful a fewer weeks. 

Additionally, recent NHS data showed 1 successful 5 patients waited arsenic agelong arsenic six week aft being referred for 'urgent' scans to observe cancer.  

Despite this, Ms Jones noted while location are pros and cons to each system, she misses knowing she could ever beryllium covered nether nan NHS. 

'There was that information of knowing I could entree attraction and spend it,' she said. 

A TikToker named Sean, who moved from nan US to nan UK successful 2017, posted a TikTok successful precocious 2022 wherever he said contempt misconceptions from different Americans and Brits, nan NHS is still costly, particularly for foreigners. 

'The NHS is not free. It's really very expensive,' he said. 'When I opportunity the NHS is expensive, it's costly for nan value of work that you get.'

Sean, who moved from nan US to nan UK successful 2017, said 1 of nan main misconceptions among Americans is that nan NHS is genuinely 'free.' 

He noted astir Americans are not alert nan NHS is paid for done taxes.

Someone making £50,000 ($62,000), for example, could beryllium expected to salary 8 to 10 percent - £4,000 to £5,000 ($5,000 to $6,200) - though nan nonstop complaint varies.

Whereas successful nan US, wellness security is not based connected taxes and is alternatively either paid for by nan individual, their employer, aliases a state-run programme for illustration Medicaid. 

'The NHS is not free. It's really very expensive,' Sean said successful a 2022 TikTok video. 'When I opportunity the NHS is expensive, it's costly for nan value of work that you get.'

Additionally, nan UK has a smaller assortment of medicine narcotics than nan US, meaning patients sometimes get cheaper and little effective versions.

This is because nan NHS negotiates pinch supplier companies connected prices and keeps a stricter budget, which intends less narcotics get approved and go disposable to nan public. 

For example, Mrs Jones noted while she was capable to find a supplier that worked for her ADHD, she would person had less options successful nan UK than nan US had her medicine needed to beryllium switched.  

However, expats besides had respective pros astir nan UK healthcare. Ms Jones, for one, said that nan NHS allowed her to much comfortably spend to spot specialists that she different could not spend paying for US security out-of-pocket. 

'I was conscionable excited to person healthcare that I didn't person to salary for essentially,' she said. 'I had a batch of worldly that I hadn't really decently taken attraction of that I was capable to return attraction of erstwhile I sewage there.'

Ms Jones estimates that she had to salary an other £1,000 ($1,200) arsenic portion of her visa, which was dispersed retired complete 2 and a half years. 

She noted that her GP successful nan UK was nan first supplier she had seen who referred her for tests and room to test endometriosis, a information successful which insubstantial akin to nan lining of nan uterus grows successful different places adjacent nan abdomen and pelvis. 

This results successful achy and dense periods, arsenic good arsenic fertility issues. 

'If I had to person that cognition [in nan US] arsenic a freelancer, I wouldn't person been capable to spend it,' she said. 'In nan US, I saw a master but was ne'er offered nan process to test endometriosis.' 

Nicole, a mother-of-three from nan US, noted that she had respective affirmative experiences pinch nan healthcare system. 

One illustration she gave was an ambulance thrust for her boy being afloat covered and bringing bid of mind. 

However, she was 'terrified' by nan deficiency of preventative screening for conditions for illustration cancer. 

'As a woman, for me, preventative wellness attraction is nan astir important thing, and successful nan UK, you cannot get bosom screening until betwixt nan ages of 50 to 53,' she said. 

Nicole said she wanted to get a mammogram astatine property 42 because her grandma died of bosom cancer. However, contempt having backstage insurance, she was not allowed to get screened. 

'To me, nan truth that there's small preventive attraction is really scary,' she said. 'I americium thankful, but I'm conscionable concerned pinch nan preventative attraction broadside of nan NHS and why it lacks truthful much.' 

US bosom crab screening recommendations person besides mostly started astatine property 50, though nan US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) past period suggested lowering that property to 40. 

On average, crab is diagnosed earlier successful nan US, pinch nationalist figures suggesting property 66 successful nan US and property 70 successful nan UK. 

Experts propose this could beryllium owed to nan US screening for definite cancers astatine earlier ages. For bosom cancer, US screening starts astatine property 40, while nan UK guidelines statesman astatine property 50. 

And screening for colorectal cancer, which is on nan emergence successful some nan US and UK, starts astatine property 45 for Americans and property 60 for Britons.