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[mulerooster]

So if an American moves to the UK and is a post-doc at Cambridge, they will be covered by Britain's National Health Service if they get sick right?

Now what I'm wondering about is if I go on a trip to another country (mainland Europe) or go back home to the states briefly.  What if I get sick while I'm on those trips?  Does the NHS cover my medical costs if I'm out of the country?  Or do I need to buy insurance coverage with another carrier when traveling?

And what about dental - does the NHS cover any dental expenses (checkups, x-rays, cavities, root canals, crowns, etc.)?

[qrypt]

So if an American moves to the UK and is a post-doc at Cambridge, they will be covered by Britain's National Health Service if they get sick right?

Right.

Now what I'm wondering about is if I go on a trip to another country (mainland Europe) or go back home to the states briefly.  What if I get sick while I'm on those trips?  Does the NHS cover my medical costs if I'm out of the country?  Or do I need to buy insurance coverage with another carrier when traveling?

No dice if you go back to the US, but you can get pretty inexpensive travel insurance that includes health coverage at least for emergency situations.  For European travel, you can get basic coverage via an EHIC.

And what about dental - does the NHS cover any dental expenses (checkups, x-rays, cavities, root canals, crowns, etc.)?

There is dentistry on the NHS, but it isn't free.  It is pretty cheap, though, especially for check-ups; fees for cleaning are also low. 

[hegemony]

In my experience, you can also get travel health insurance as an American living abroad but traveling to the States.  You need to work with someone at a travel agency who deals in these things.  Apparently there is a market in folks who want to get this or that voluntary procedure done, and buy health insurance and then travel to the country and have it done.  You'll need a person to observe that you're a regular tourist, not a health tourist, and thereby approve you (the automatic application procedure may exclude you).  So it was explained to me when I did it and got the insurance.  Also, obviously, check out the reputation of the insurer online before buying.

[the_walrus]

I am in exactly the same position as you, and it's a relatively common and very easy to deal with problem here.  You just need to buy some travel insurance that covers you for the states.  And, by virtue of the fact that it covers you for the states, it actually covers you worldwide.  (They have something like 3 tiers---EU only, EU+something, and worldwide (the only level that includes the US).  It's something like £150 a year for both me and my spouse.  Our particular policy is through Halifax, which seemed the best option because they allow you trips of up to 60 days in duration, while some others we found were more limited.

I believe one other reason we went with them was because all the insurance companies had, at the time, some kind of minimum amount of time you had to live in the UK before they would issue you travel insurance, and I believe theirs had a lower minimum than the others.  (Again, at least at the time we first signed up.)

[scotia]

Depending where you are though, it can be close to impossible to find an NHS dentist with any spaces for patients. I have private dental health cover because the only local dentist (within 20 miles) with any spaces when I moved also had a reputation that explained the places.

[theblondeassassin]

mulerooster, if you're a member of a Cambridge college as a post-doc, your college might well have a "captive" dental practice (and GP surgery) who will take you on even if their lists are full.

More generally, despite horror stories about British dentistry, I found my dentist knowledgeable, technically competent, and not that expensive, when I needed treatment earlier this year. (I had continued going to my US dentist until I stopped travelling to ParentCityUSA, as I hadn't needed anything but routine cleaning since Reagan was president.)

I did ask around for recommendations, and my dental practice was recommended by a lot of Americans I know who are very finicky.

The prices for major procedures (e.g., root canal, implants) here are a lot cheaper than US rates, although this wasn't true when I moved to the UK.

I do however know a number of people who do medical tourism for major dental work, though, as prices can be a lot lower elsewhere, and quality higher, especially in Eastern Europe and East Asia. If you needed more than one major procedure, going abroad would probably pay for itself unless you were covered by the NHS or by private insurance, which is very, very expensive.

And, as a couple of posters above noted, buying medical insurance for travelling to the US is essential, and annual coverage works out to be much cheaper than trip-by-trip.

[oddlyodd]

As other posters have said, it is very likely that your new college will have a GP practice 'tied' to it, so it will just be a matter of finding out which one it is and registering with them. Finding an NHS dentist with places is another matter entirely...

For going abroad to Europe, you need to register for an EHIC card: http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/Introduction.aspx. This gives you the right to the same level of emergency treatment as you'd expect on the NHS, without having to pay or at a reduced cost. For other costs (e.g. repatriation back to the UK), you need travel insurance.

[drspouse]

It's easier than it was to find an NHS dentist with spaces - you might have to travel a bit. I have several colleagues who, despite moving to the area within months of my moving, or within months of mrspouse changing dentists, insist it was completely impossible to find an NHS dentist, but I strongly suspect they rang one practice who told them to ring a central administration number, and they gave up, as we found spaces at the two dental practices nearest our house - they just happen to be different practices in each case.

[scotia]

It's easier than it was to find an NHS dentist with spaces - you might have to travel a bit. I have several colleagues who, despite moving to the area within months of my moving, or within months of mrspouse changing dentists, insist it was completely impossible to find an NHS dentist, but I strongly suspect they rang one practice who told them to ring a central administration number, and they gave up, as we found spaces at the two dental practices nearest our house - they just happen to be different practices in each case.

I have found NHS dental provision is patchy. I tried all the dental practices in scotiaville and in local towns/villages, plus those that were close to ScotiaU. The nearest one without a dubious reputation was 25 miles from home, in the opposite direction to ScotiaU. The hassle and fuel costs added up to more than paying for private treatment.

[onelime]

This is all very helpful, as I've been wondering the same thing. Here's an added twist: does my pregnancy/infant free dental care dispensation cover both NHS and private dentists, then?

I spent last summer (2010) in the US and we got 3 months of travel insurance through a bank. But then it wouldn't cover my kid's trip to the ER and we were out $700 for what turned out to be nothing more than a really bad scrape.

[drspouse]

This is all very helpful, as I've been wondering the same thing. Here's an added twist: does my pregnancy/infant free dental care dispensation cover both NHS and private dentists, then?

No, but I do know that some NHS dentists have spaces for children only, perhaps you might sneak in on those grounds while still pregnant/nursing (before the child is actually registered in their own right).

[britmom]

This is all very helpful, as I've been wondering the same thing. Here's an added twist: does my pregnancy/infant free dental care dispensation cover both NHS and private dentists, then?

I spent last summer (2010) in the US and we got 3 months of travel insurance through a bank. But then it wouldn't cover my kid's trip to the ER and we were out $700 for what turned out to be nothing more than a really bad scrape.

As drspouse said, but my private dentist treats children of patients for free until they're 5. (It used to be 16, grrr.) When I was a child, there were NHS dentists a-plenty and some of them were very, very good. (The one I went to is now a very expensive private dentist who treats the rich and (a little bit) famous in the area.) I believe that many of them started to go private in the late 1980s due to the fact that the amount they received from the NHS became too low for them to keep going/provide decent quality treatment. I wouldn't touch an NHS dentist in my area; I'm very grateful that we have the money to go private. I'm sure there are still decent NHS dentists around, but--depending on the area--they can be hard to find.

Another point is that, when I used NHS dentists, they could only provide the crap-est options on the NHS. It was mercury/black fillings only. If you wanted white ones you had to pay the equivalent cost of private treatment.

[onelime]

Ick. Thanks.
I've just checked my exemption certificate - it's NHS-only, no surprise, and I should have mentioned that it's Scotland, where coverage seems to be a bit better. Can't speak for dentistry, though.

[drspouse]

I wouldn't touch an NHS dentist in my area; I'm very grateful that we have the money to go private. I'm sure there are still decent NHS dentists around, but--depending on the area--they can be hard to find.

Another point is that, when I used NHS dentists, they could only provide the crap-est options on the NHS. It was mercury/black fillings only. If you wanted white ones you had to pay the equivalent cost of private treatment.

Both my and mrspouse's NHS dentists are lovely and highly competent (though he had one nearer his former place of work who wasn't, he had been going there for ages so we suspected he was a bit out of touch).  And if you have a private filling with an NHS dentist, you pay the private cost for the materials but I doubt you are paying the private cost for the work, considering how much private dentists cost.

I've got a front tooth cap that was private work, through my regular NHS dentist, and I don't remember it being particularly pricey. mrspouse has had loads of private dental reconstruction (owing to what was truly dreadful dentistry in the 1960s - he uses the NHS dentist for fillings/checkups/cleanings) and, well, ouch.

[britmom]

Ick. Thanks.
I've just checked my exemption certificate - it's NHS-only, no surprise, and I should have mentioned that it's Scotland, where coverage seems to be a bit better. Can't speak for dentistry, though.

I'm also in Scotland. I haven't actually looked around at NHS dentists recently (we signed up with our private dentist 7 years ago); I think that things might have improved since then. I don't find my dentist that expensive, however.