Price rise for London medical

[kins 0]

I phoned to book my medical in London today and they told me that the price goes up to £200 on 1st May 2007... ANOTHER price rise?

[Aniomaman 0]

Now that is taking the right piss....they just increased the fee a month ago or so....

[homesick_american 1]

Unsurprising; inflation is high here at the moment.

[kins 0]

Unsurprising; inflation is high here at the moment.

But an inflationary rise of 3.1% would take it to £175, not £200. It's not inflation driving this rise, it's greed, I think

Still, it will all be worth it in the long run when we are with our loved ones again...

[homesick_american 1]

Unsurprising; inflation is high here at the moment.

But an inflationary rise of 3.1% would take it to £175, not £200. It's not inflation driving this rise, it's greed, I think

Still, it will all be worth it in the long run when we are with our loved ones again...

Inflation was higher last quarter and has been running above government comfort levels for several quarters now (i.e. above 2%). Everything in the UK is getting more expensive, so it is not surprising that they raised their price. As for greed...well...this IS the UK, where you pay over the odds for almost everything.

[kins 0]

Unsurprising; inflation is high here at the moment.

But an inflationary rise of 3.1% would take it to £175, not £200. It's not inflation driving this rise, it's greed, I think

Still, it will all be worth it in the long run when we are with our loved ones again...

Inflation was higher last quarter and has been running above government comfort levels for several quarters now (i.e. above 2%). Everything in the UK is getting more expensive, so it is not surprising that they raised their price. As for greed...well...this IS the UK, where you pay over the odds for almost everything.

It wasn't 17.6% though was it? If the medical price had risen by £5 you could blame inflation.

I do agree that the UK is more expensive in a lot of ways, but it has been good to my family over the last few years - better than if we'd been in the US. I have had three babies at no cost to me, my husband has been paid to train as a teacher, and we have received thousands of pounds in tax credits. Plus we have made £100,000 out of the rising housing market. But now we are a middle income family I think we are better off in the US. It is swings and roundabouts really...

[homesick_american 1]

It wasn't 17.6% though was it? If the medical price had risen by £5 you could blame inflation.

No, but I don't know when the last price rise for a medical was. If the price had been the same for, say, five years...it is plausible that the rise is due mostly to inflation and not to greed. However, I think there has to be an element of greed in there somewhere...we're a captive audience after all, and we have to go where we're told to go.

I do agree that the UK is more expensive in a lot of ways, but it has been good to my family over the last few years - better than if we'd been in the US. I have had three babies at no cost to me, my husband has been paid to train as a teacher, and we have received thousands of pounds in tax credits. Plus we have made £100,000 out of the rising housing market. But now we are a middle income family I think we are better off in the US. It is swings and roundabouts really...

I think it's OK overall; not terrific, not horrible.

I had this whole big paragraph written out, but I decided to delete it; I've had this discussion with so many people and all it does is piss off the Brits and the Anglophiles. So I'll just say this...I'm looking forward to getting back home, difficult and stressful as it's going to be.

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

I had this whole big paragraph written out, but I decided to delete it; I've had this discussion with so many people and all it does is piss off the Brits and the Anglophiles. So I'll just say this...I'm looking forward to getting back home, difficult and stressful as it's going to be.

Tee hee!

[homesick_american 1]

I had this whole big paragraph written out, but I decided to delete it; I've had this discussion with so many people and all it does is piss off the Brits and the Anglophiles. So I'll just say this...I'm looking forward to getting back home, difficult and stressful as it's going to be.

Tee hee!

Oy, I was trying to be diplomatic! I thought I did OK.

[kins 0]

It wasn't 17.6% though was it? If the medical price had risen by £5 you could blame inflation.

No, but I don't know when the last price rise for a medical was. If the price had been the same for, say, five years...it is plausible that the rise is due mostly to inflation and not to greed. However, I think there has to be an element of greed in there somewhere...we're a captive audience after all, and we have to go where we're told to go.

I do agree that the UK is more expensive in a lot of ways, but it has been good to my family over the last few years - better than if we'd been in the US. I have had three babies at no cost to me, my husband has been paid to train as a teacher, and we have received thousands of pounds in tax credits. Plus we have made £100,000 out of the rising housing market. But now we are a middle income family I think we are better off in the US. It is swings and roundabouts really...

I think it's OK overall; not terrific, not horrible.

I had this whole big paragraph written out, but I decided to delete it; I've had this discussion with so many people and all it does is piss off the Brits and the Anglophiles. So I'll just say this...I'm looking forward to getting back home, difficult and stressful as it's going to be.

I had a medical in 1999 and it was £80 so it's been more than a 100% price rise in 8 years... I believe it went from £160 to £170 a few months ago? The price of US visas and adjustment of status in particular has really shot up in that time. I watched it happen as I went through the process in 1999 - the fees almost doubled while I waited for my case to get to the front of the queue. We are indeed easy targets for both bureaucracies and I don't think the general rate of inflation in the UK or the US has anything to do with it.

I looked forward to going home to the UK last time I lived in America, so I can well imagine how you're feeling. But at the same time I try to see the good in whichever country I am living in at the time - if you're stuck somewhere you might as well try to enjoy it. When I'm in America I don't whinge about its downsides to Americans unless they ask me my opinion... insetad I b*tch to my friends back home in the UK and they are very satisfyingly agreeable lol...

[homesick_american 1]

I looked forward to going home to the UK last time I lived in America, so I can well imagine how you're feeling. But at the same time I try to see the good in whichever country I am living in at the time - if you're stuck somewhere you might as well try to enjoy it. When I'm in America I don't whinge about its downsides to Americans unless they ask me my opinion... insetad I b*tch to my friends back home in the UK and they are very satisfyingly agreeable lol...

Well, thanks for the living abroad tips but I'll handle things my way. Thanks.

[Duffbeer 0]

Hi Kins,

I've booked my Appointment too for the 30th of April!! see u there hehe

I have to get the MMR and TD again because they were are not on my medical report, so i guess going a day before the price rise means i get a free vaccination! woo hoo

Good luck!!

And what do they actually do in a medical exam?

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

I had this whole big paragraph written out, but I decided to delete it; I've had this discussion with so many people and all it does is piss off the Brits and the Anglophiles. So I'll just say this...I'm looking forward to getting back home, difficult and stressful as it's going to be.

Tee hee!

Oy, I was trying to be diplomatic! I thought I did OK.

Oh, HA, sorry! No harm intended at all. You did do a good job, with more restraint than I would have shown! I've decided to bar myself from making any more anti-UK comments... unless they're totally called for! (We'll see how long I can shut up...)

[homesick_american 1]

Oh, HA, sorry! No harm intended at all. You did do a good job, with more restraint than I would have shown! I've decided to bar myself from making any more anti-UK comments... unless they're totally called for! (We'll see how long I can shut up...)

We can have a contest....first one to bash loses....starting NOW!

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

Oh, HA, sorry! No harm intended at all. You did do a good job, with more restraint than I would have shown! I've decided to bar myself from making any more anti-UK comments... unless they're totally called for! (We'll see how long I can shut up...)

We can have a contest....first one to bash loses....starting NOW!

Must...fight...urge...