I couldn't have Medicare in Florida till I became a citizen. I had health insurance for years.
My friend from Harborne Birmingham emigrated to Florida by way of buying a business and they had to wait 10 years.
Are you and your friend over 65 then..
Immigrants can access parts B and C of Medicare like any other US citizen and after 5 years for part A...it's only 10 years if you want Premium part A free...and that applies again to all US citizens, who must have worked in the US for 40 consecutive quarters. So immigrants are not being treated any differently from those born in the United States, they are still eligible for Medicare (non premium) part A...
You are advocating a two tier system whereby an immigrant cannot access public schools and the most widespread medical care in the UK (while comparing it the US, when it actually bares no relation to what an immigrant can actually access in the US) even though they pay the relevant taxation that would enable them to access it if they were born here. Also all immigrants have access to the public school system in the US. Immigrants are also eligible for Medicaid, as well as welfare programs in the US such as HUD Public Housing subsidies, Social Security and other related welfare programs with some exceptions such as Supplementary welfare (like our working tax credits). Here in the UK an immigrant would not be eligible for public housing subsidies (housing benefit) or Social Security (JSA) or any other related public welfare unless they are contributory benefits where the immigrant has paid into the system for the eligible length of time for the specific benefit (such as contributory employment benefit).
"" Immigrants must financially support themselves and their dependents for 5 years. This means private health insurance (except emergency medical care),
private education and private housing - they should pay into the pot before they take out of it."
"Proof of private health insurance must be a precondition for immigrants and tourists to enter the UK"
I asked how that would be practically possible as the UK doesn't have the same private medical infrastructure that the US does and given that visas last for only 5 years whether that means immigrants will get a reduction on their taxes because they never benefit from the system they pay into?
Immigrants today do not benefit from public funds as it stands, and they pay into the system so are entitled to access public education and the NHS...in effect all non EU immigrants already have to financially support themselves and their dependents for a minimum of 5 years 14 days....so what are you bleating about. You seem to be under the (common in the this thread) misconception that a non-EU immigrant can come in and claim off the system without contributing to it or without proving they can support themselves...this is simply untrue.
And now tourists as well...
they already have to pay for NHS treatment.
Anyway I'm not trying to be facetious here, just pointing out that in reality the majority of non-EU immigrants already have to comply with very strict restrictions regarding public funding and access to welfare etc, and given our national insurance system of taxation they already contribute to the NHS and there are already certain restrictions on them regarding that as well. It is a misconception that non-EU immigrants can simply come in and start accessing public funding, and that the visa system is such that they already have to prove the can support themselves and their families for more than 5 years already.
