It’s so ridiculous. And so random. Like they could tell you your problem was sorted in such a way that you “only” owe $100, or they could say that the scans alone are $200, and they’re not covering that at all because… because… well, they’re not really sure, but good luck fighting it.

My dad kept me on his insurance after I moved, because it wasn’t costing him any extra (I don’t really know how it works, I’ve lived in the U.K. since a couple weeks after turning 18, so I was never an independent adult there), but he retired recently and his benefits went with it. It’s no problem for him, because he gets health insurance through his pension plan and it’s more or less the same thing as before. But my brother was also taken off and he had to buy his own at 19. Right now he gets it through his university, but when he graduates next year he’ll probably be paying $300/month. When I visit I have to buy travel insurance, which is like $50 for a week-long visit, and I’d have to pay a tonne out of pocket if I actually got sick enough to need a doctor.

I resent paying the NHS surcharge on my visa purely because I feel like I’m being double-billed (I pay taxes too), but it’s like £250/YEAR. even if I decided not to work at all I’d have access to the NHS. When I was a student and not really contributing to the economy much I had access for 1/10 of what my brother pays.