Anyone studying/working in the UK as a foreigner?

[DavidXU]

Hi there,

Though I thought I would choose an US school, now it turns out that I am going to stay in London for my graduate study for several years. I know nothing about how should a crohnie survive there.

Well, I know that there is a NHS in the UK. But does it cover medical expenses for international students? How about pre-existing condition such as Crohn's? Does it take months before I can see a specialist? Do I need to buy additional commercial insurance? So many questions, but thank you for sharing information.

 

[fuzzy butterfly]

Hi David xu. I am not sure if the NHS covers student expenses or not. I'm afraid to say that appointments can take a while to get. You can get private medical insurance via BUPA, or similar to back you up. I can look up about the expenses thing on the NHS for you if you want. Best wishes

 

[DavidXU]

Hi David xu. I am not sure if the NHS covers student expenses or not. I'm afraid to say that appointments can take a while to get. You can get private medical insurance via BUPA, or similar to back you up. I can look up about the expenses thing on the NHS for you if you want. Best wishes

Thank you mandyk.

I found only this from google:

NHS ENTITLEMENT

You are entitled to free National Health Service care and treatment whilst in the UK if your course is both full-time and lasts 6 months or more. If this is the case, entitlement also applies to your family members (spouse / civil partner and your children). To be entitled, family members are required both to live with you for the duration of your course (although settling in time is permitted before you send for them) and to have the correct UK visas. You are also entitled to specialist care from the NHS, as long as it is for the treatment of a condition that is not pre-existing, i.e. not a condition that existed before your entry to the UK.

So it seems that I am not eligible for NHS free treatment. Does this mean I have to pay for all my medications including Remicade? I will go bankruptcy in the UK if this happens...

 

[ronroush7]

I wish you the best.

 

[ronroush7]

I am not sure if they can help but within the support group there is a thread called Uninsured Crohnies Support Group. You might see if they have any suggestions. Sending support.

 

[fuzzy butterfly]

Hi David. Right ok il try and find out more for you re pre existing conditions. Bear with me on this as im out tonight n in work tommorow. I will look into it asap. Best wishes

 

[fuzzy butterfly]

Hi David the best I can do is to say that if you type in 'is the NHS free to foreign students' and press search /go. It should show u a list, scroll up to the one saying HEALTH EDUCATION UK(GLOBAL) as it's heading and click on it. Then read the health section. I tried to upload it here but couldn't sorry. It seems to me you can get treatment free but may need to pay an upfront fee of around £150.00 English pounds. Check it out and see what you think. I think that some of the University 's also have health care information on their site. So check the uni you are going to as well. I hope that this is of help to you. Best wishes
Ps I am sure that you can get this even with a preexisting condition, that is the impression that I got from all the stuff I trawled through. There is also a pdf available on the same page as the one I said to type in. So maybe download that. Try this link www.ukcisa.org.uk

 

[Catherine]

Sorry I can't be of any help.

I have a daughter with Crohn's living in UK. She is covered by NHS as she is Australian and covered by Reciprocal health agreement.

I did purchase travel insurance for her which covers Crohn's Disease but it doesn't regular medications.

 

[fuzzy butterfly]

View attachment Immigration_Health_Charge_questions_and_answers-2.pdf hope this is the one I wanted to give you. DAVID
I think you just need to press on download n it should work. I it is one from our Home office site. Hope it works!!!

 

[DavidXU]

View attachment 3397 hope this is the one I wanted to give you. DAVID
I think you just need to press on download n it should work. I it is one from our Home office site. Hope it works!!!

Thank you soooo much， Mandyk！ This looks promising and really affordable！

“5. How does the surcharge compare with our competitors and with the alternative of private medical insurance?
The surcharge will be set at a competitive rate and will be a lower cost over the period of stay than the cost of even basic private medical insurance. Private medical insurance for students and working migrants is a common requirement in many of our competitor nations, such as Australia and the USA and the costs there are higher. A student applying to Harvard in the USA would in most cases have to pay a payment of around £600 per year to access basic health services. To access Harvard’s more comprehensive health insurance plan would cost an additional £1500 per year.
In contrast, the surcharge would cost a foreign student applying to study in the UK only £150 per year. Private medical insurance for a student in the UK, which is comparable with healthcare provided by the NHS is likely to be significantly higher than the proposed surcharge.
Basic ‘travel’ type medical insurance is a limited product. It is intended to provide emergency cover only rather than on-going care. It will have a higher excess charge (the sum payable by the insured) and a lower financial ceiling (the maximum sum payable by the insurer) than a more comprehensive product. A product of this type will also generally exclude treatment for pre-existing conditions and treatment for pregnancy, a chronic condition or which is expensive”

 

[Agent X20]

That sounds reasonable. Good luck for both your health and your studies.

 

[fuzzy butterfly]

Hi David you are most welcome. Glad the link works, I am not the greatest at technology lol. Hope it answers most of what you needed to know. I thought it sounded pretty reasonable at that price for a year. I am wishing you all the best very best in your studies and your time in England. Good health tto you to..