International Students’ Life; Coping with American Health Insurance System
In the middle of Friday night, 19-year-old CSUN student April Hong woke up from her sleep. Her pillows and bed sheets were covered with her sweats. She merely could speak and it was too hard for her to get out of the bed and make phone calls to someone who can save her life. She struggles in her bed to get up and she feels that there’s something wrong with her body. April barely walks over to her living room and grabs her cell phone. That moment, she is too scared to call 911 because her English is not that fluent. April starts to search her phone book, but there’s nobody she can call. All of her family members are in Korea thinking that April will be living a fantastic life in America but in reality, she is an international student who is new to everything that is going on in the states. She doesn’t even have a friend who can come and help her and she is too scared to call for an ambulance. Will poor April survive?
All international students are required to purchase a health insurance program through schools they are enrolled in. if they don’t buy the insurance, they cannot register for classes. Healthcare is important especially when someone is studying in a foreign country so it is not a problem that many of the international students purchase health insurance through their schools. The problem is after they purchase it. The main issue about health insurance coverage for international students comes to be either “is it worth it?” or “do I know how to use it when I really need it?” unfortunately, most of international students don’t have the answer for any of this question.
April Hong still wasn’t sure what to do. She had so much fever, she couldn’t move her body easily. However, she waited at her apartment until next morning. Because it was only her first semester at American university, she thought it would be much easier to speak to a Korean doctor. She took out a Korean yellow page book and started to dial the numbers of Korean doctors’ offices. She picked a hospital in Korea town with a huge advertisement on the book. She called and explained to a nurse that she is an international student from Korea and wants to see a doctor immediately. The nurse on the phone said April has to wait for two weeks to see a doctor and her insurance is not covered at their hospital. “But I purchased it through my school and it is a $800 insurance!” shouted April. The nurse hung up the phone after she had said she has nothing to say. April didn’t give up and called five other Korean hospitals but none of them said they could cover April with her insurance. While she was talking to the nurses, her pains got worse and she eventually went to an urgent center in Northridge. At the urgent center, she had to wait for almost two hours and got to see a doctor for 30 seconds. Fortunately, she was covered by her insurance at the urgent center but that wasn’t the end of the problem. April brought her prescription to the nearest pharmacy and there, she had to wait for another hour because the nobody at the pharmacy knew for sure if April’s health insurance would covers the pharmacy costs. April showed her identification and her health insurance card, but it was no use. She ended up paying almost $100 for the medication. How long did it take April to make phone calls, visit an urgent center, and finally get the medication she needed? All day. April came back home around seven at night and she got even sicker. She did not understand why it is so complicated to see a doctor in America when she still pays $800 a year for her health insurance.
Christina Choe, another international student from Korea is planning to visit her home country during this winter break. She has all of her family members living with her in the states but she still paid $1,300 for a plane ticket to Korea. “I’m going to Korea every year to get medical examination,” Choe said. According to Choe, all of her family members fly to Korea almost every year for medical check-up. Because her family immigrated to the states only a few years ago, they don’t have green card yet which forces them to pay unreasonable amount of money for health insurance. “It takes money and time to go to Korea, but I can get medical check-ups at relatively inexpensive price which I can’t even dream about in America. It may cost twice or even three times more to get overall check-ups in the states than Korea, so I’d rather pay for air fair. That’s more worth it” Choe said.
It is not hard to find an international student suffering from health care problem. Due to its high cost and complicated procedures, lots of international students like Christina fly back to their homelands despite all the inconveniences to receive health care with less expense.
“Most medical treatments are available just by making appointments at school health center but international students seems to avoid it” said Sharon Aronoff, student health administrator at CSUN. “Students might have to wait till the next day if the center of closed or it may take several days to actually receive treatment even though students make appointments” she explained about some of the inconveniences students can encounter when utilizing student health center. Despite some of the inconveniences, Aronoff still believes the student health center on campus is the best place to come when a student is ill. “The center provides free medications and treatments for nearly any student who attends CSUN which may be the safest, cheapest, and the most useful way for international students to get medical treatments in America” Sharon added.
Susan Chung, a pediatric psychiatrist at Kaiser Permanente recently had a patient with a heart-breaking story. “I got to treat a child whose parents were the international students. The parents could hardly afford the cost of therapies for their child and their health insurance wouldn’t cover the cost, so they finally applied for Medicaid program which is built to benefit the poor” said Chung. Psychiatric treatments are known to cost a lot of money, time, and effort. This poor international student couple still had to pay for $3,000 for family health insurance and got nothing out of it. “Maybe it’s the best to treat their daughter in Korea rather than suffering all these problems here,” said Dr. Chung with somewhat bitter smile.
Kee-Hoon Shin has been running an oriental medical clinic in Northridge ever since he immigrated to the states 30 years ago. “It even feels sad to be ill in a foreign country, and if students do not receive proper treatments at pharmacies or hospitals, who would feel like staying in America to study anymore?” he expressed what he had on his mind. He additionally explained about America’s health insurance reality. “When someone rings a hospital to make an appointment, the nurse tells the patient which insurances are accepted and which insurances are not. Some of the doctor’s offices even require a patient to come in to the office first and then let the patient know whether he or she is covered or not” said Shin. Isn’t it funny that hospitals ask a patient to drive all the way to the hospitals and then send the patient back home when their computer tells them they can’t accept this patient’s insurance?
Cindy Lee, a nurse at a local dermatology office argues that the reason why some of the doctor’s offices don’t accept international students’ health insurance is because the procedure is so complicated. “We try to treat international students with respect, but almost every international student’s insurance has no coverage for dermatology treatment,” said Lee. According to Lee, many of the hospitals require certain amount of deposit to patients just in case their insurances don’t cover the fee. “We bill the insurance company after we treat patients, and sometimes the company wouldn’t pay for the treatment. Then, we have to bill patients again which makes all these procedures too complicated for us” Lee explained about the reason why some hospitals don’t want to deal with international students.
Most international students return to their home countries after several years of studying in the states. When they go back and recall America, the memories about hospitals or health insurance may not be very beautiful to them.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Yes on Prop.4
Yes on Prop. 4
There was a very shocking event in Korea a few years ago. Groups of 12th grade students went on a three-day school field trip to another city. After they came back from the field trip, one of the girls started to skip classes because of serious stomachache. Other classmates worried about her and asked her if there is anything wrong with her health, but she refused to answer. After nine months, she gave birth to a little baby girl in a public restroom.
She confessed later that she was so scared to tell her parents that she got pregnant while she went on a field trip. She was raised in a good family, but the communication was difficult because she felt so much guilt about her mistake. In the end, she bled too much while she was giving birth, her life was put in danger. After she was hospitalized, she said she would definitely tell her parents and ask for help if she could go back to her past. Because of one mistake in her life, she lost her health and her poor baby.
There were number of propositions considered in this year’s presidential election. Most women including mothers and daughters showed great interests in Proposition 4. Then, what is proposition 4 all about?
Prop. 4 deals with unemancipated minors’ pregnancy and abortion issue. Whether doctors have to notify the girl’s parents before they have an abortion operation or not was the main issue. Often times Prop. 4 is mentioned as ‘Sarah’s law’. Sarah’s law comes from a girl called Sarah who had an illegal abortion surgery when she was 15 and died due to an infection caused by the surgery. Proposition 4 differs from other past propositions that are similar to proposition 4. It allows a girl to get permission from an adult family member other than a parent. Sometimes, their parents are not the best counselors for some teenage girls. Even though the girls cannot communicate with their parents, they can still talk to their relatives including grandparents, aunts and uncles. Every girl goes through some kind of wandering time when she is a teenager. If a teenage girl feels scared that she might be kicked out of her home, she can talk to one of her other family members who can understand her situation.
Teenage girls can become very emotional and not be able to think and decide rationally and proposition 4 can help those girls in a better way and to live a healthier life by telling their family members who can change the girls’ life that can be miserable in a way for the wrong actions they have made.
Of course, mandatory notification to parents can lead some girls to kill themselves. This is why doctors must tell a family member about this very sensitive issue. Abortion can bring a serious danger in a girl’s mental and physical health and a parent or a family member can help her by providing a family health history. Although counselors can help a girl, family is the one who care about a girl the most.
One of the arguments against this proposition is that no law can mandate family communication. However, this is not just about family communication. This is about the parents’ right and responsibility to know what is happening on their child’s body, especially if the child is a minor. Parents not only have the right to know but also obligated to know as the parents to take necessary measures to protect and help their daughters.
Abortion is a major medical operation and parents have a right to know if their child is going through this serious procedure. If counseling is necessary to a girl, then counseling process should be provided to both parents and a child to help them to have a better communication in the future. Listening to their voices, sharing their hearts, and guiding them to the right way can change the girls’ life that can be painful and miserable for a mistake they have made in their life.
There was a very shocking event in Korea a few years ago. Groups of 12th grade students went on a three-day school field trip to another city. After they came back from the field trip, one of the girls started to skip classes because of serious stomachache. Other classmates worried about her and asked her if there is anything wrong with her health, but she refused to answer. After nine months, she gave birth to a little baby girl in a public restroom.
She confessed later that she was so scared to tell her parents that she got pregnant while she went on a field trip. She was raised in a good family, but the communication was difficult because she felt so much guilt about her mistake. In the end, she bled too much while she was giving birth, her life was put in danger. After she was hospitalized, she said she would definitely tell her parents and ask for help if she could go back to her past. Because of one mistake in her life, she lost her health and her poor baby.
There were number of propositions considered in this year’s presidential election. Most women including mothers and daughters showed great interests in Proposition 4. Then, what is proposition 4 all about?
Prop. 4 deals with unemancipated minors’ pregnancy and abortion issue. Whether doctors have to notify the girl’s parents before they have an abortion operation or not was the main issue. Often times Prop. 4 is mentioned as ‘Sarah’s law’. Sarah’s law comes from a girl called Sarah who had an illegal abortion surgery when she was 15 and died due to an infection caused by the surgery. Proposition 4 differs from other past propositions that are similar to proposition 4. It allows a girl to get permission from an adult family member other than a parent. Sometimes, their parents are not the best counselors for some teenage girls. Even though the girls cannot communicate with their parents, they can still talk to their relatives including grandparents, aunts and uncles. Every girl goes through some kind of wandering time when she is a teenager. If a teenage girl feels scared that she might be kicked out of her home, she can talk to one of her other family members who can understand her situation.
Teenage girls can become very emotional and not be able to think and decide rationally and proposition 4 can help those girls in a better way and to live a healthier life by telling their family members who can change the girls’ life that can be miserable in a way for the wrong actions they have made.
Of course, mandatory notification to parents can lead some girls to kill themselves. This is why doctors must tell a family member about this very sensitive issue. Abortion can bring a serious danger in a girl’s mental and physical health and a parent or a family member can help her by providing a family health history. Although counselors can help a girl, family is the one who care about a girl the most.
One of the arguments against this proposition is that no law can mandate family communication. However, this is not just about family communication. This is about the parents’ right and responsibility to know what is happening on their child’s body, especially if the child is a minor. Parents not only have the right to know but also obligated to know as the parents to take necessary measures to protect and help their daughters.
Abortion is a major medical operation and parents have a right to know if their child is going through this serious procedure. If counseling is necessary to a girl, then counseling process should be provided to both parents and a child to help them to have a better communication in the future. Listening to their voices, sharing their hearts, and guiding them to the right way can change the girls’ life that can be painful and miserable for a mistake they have made in their life.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
혹시, 태몽일까요?
어디론가 가기위해 정신없이 짐을싸는 꿈을 꾸었다
나는 어디로가려고 그렇게 정신없이, 바쁘게 짐을꾸리고 있었을까
네이버 꿈해몽에 들어가 검색해보니 이삿짐을 꾸리는 꿈은
뭔가 도전적인 일을 하게되거나, 크나 큰 선택의 기로에 놓일징조라고
나와서 순간적으로 너무나 깜짝놀라고말았다
어려서 엄마를따라간 철학관에서 나는 지루함에 엄마 치맛자락
을 붙잡고 내 사주도 봐줘, 하며 징징댔었다
엄마도 심심풀이라고 생각했었는지 내 사주도 봐달라고 부탁하였고
철학관의 수염기른 할아버지는 내게 공부를 절대 많이 하지 말라는
의미심장한 말씀을 하셨었다 , 난 그때 꽤나 공부도 잘하고
똑똑하다고 믿고있었기에 무슨 청천벽력을 맞은것처럼 멍, 해져서는
사주팔자따위는 믿지않겠다고 다짐했었다
그 후, 나는 엄마를 따라 점집에 스무번쯤은 더 가게되었고
나도모르게 갈때마다 사주를 보게되었는데, 놀랍게도 거의 모든
점쟁이들은 나에게 공부를 너무열심히 하지 말라는 말을 하는거였다
그 이유는, 나는 두통을 타고 태어났기때문에 공부를 너무많이하게되면
미쳐버릴수도 있다는것이었다 ;
거기에더해, 나는 신선놀음을 하는사주이니, 실컷 하고싶은대로 하면서
놀으라는 거였다, 사업하고싶으면 사업하고, 여행하고싶음 여행하고,
단, 결혼은 늦게하라고했다, 보통성격이 아니라서 살인날수도 있다고 ;
미국으로 대학을 오면서 나는 점쟁이들의 말을 실감하게 되었는데
철학수업을 들으면서 공부에빠지게되자 , 나는 정말 미친사람처럼
생각하고 행동하기 시작한 것이다 , 미국에 식구들도없고 친구들도
없었기에 나는 소크라테스가 나의 소울메이트 라는 등의 생각을하며
폐인같은생활을 하다가 심각한 우울증에걸려 강제로 한국으로
소환됐었다 ;
나의엄마는 딸이미치는 꼴은 볼수없었는지 갑자기 나에게 큰 돈을
쥐어주며 실컷놀으라말했고, 스물셋을 맞은 그 해부터 나는 홍대,
압구정의 클럽을 접수하며 일주일에 세번쯤은 기본으로 외박을 해주는
생활을 하게되었다, 급기야 나의엄마는 나의 쿨함에 반했는지
엄마의 사업체까지 나에게 물려주어 나는 그야말로 신선놀음에
방탕한 생활을 즐기게되었고 또다른 폐인의 생활로빠져들었다
명동한복판을 걸으며 내가 맘만먹으면 못꼬실 남자가없다고
생각할 정도였으니 ;
비정상적인생활이었지만 그래도 내 인생에서 가장 재미있던 시절
이 아닌가싶다, 비록 그 시절도 철준이를 만나면서 다 청산해야
했지만, 암튼 나는 철준이를만나면서부터 방탕한 생활은 접었지만
내가얼마나 보수적이고 속물적인 인간인지를 다시한번깨달았다
나는그때 강한 복수심에 불타올라있었는데 , 친절한금자씨처럼
완벽한 복수계획을 세우고 그것을 달성하기위해 다시 미국으로왔다
웃긴것은, 일년이 지난지금, 내 복수계획은 온데간데없어졌다는것 ,
왜냐하면 나에게 더 중요한 일이 생겼기때문인데,
그것은 공부를 더 할것이냐 말것이냐를 두고 내가 몇년동안 고민해온
결정을 이제는 더 이상 미룰수가없다는 것이다, 그런와중에
나는 어디로가려고 그렇게 정신없이, 바쁘게 짐을꾸리고 있었을까
네이버 꿈해몽에 들어가 검색해보니 이삿짐을 꾸리는 꿈은
뭔가 도전적인 일을 하게되거나, 크나 큰 선택의 기로에 놓일징조라고
나와서 순간적으로 너무나 깜짝놀라고말았다
어려서 엄마를따라간 철학관에서 나는 지루함에 엄마 치맛자락
을 붙잡고 내 사주도 봐줘, 하며 징징댔었다
엄마도 심심풀이라고 생각했었는지 내 사주도 봐달라고 부탁하였고
철학관의 수염기른 할아버지는 내게 공부를 절대 많이 하지 말라는
의미심장한 말씀을 하셨었다 , 난 그때 꽤나 공부도 잘하고
똑똑하다고 믿고있었기에 무슨 청천벽력을 맞은것처럼 멍, 해져서는
사주팔자따위는 믿지않겠다고 다짐했었다
그 후, 나는 엄마를 따라 점집에 스무번쯤은 더 가게되었고
나도모르게 갈때마다 사주를 보게되었는데, 놀랍게도 거의 모든
점쟁이들은 나에게 공부를 너무열심히 하지 말라는 말을 하는거였다
그 이유는, 나는 두통을 타고 태어났기때문에 공부를 너무많이하게되면
미쳐버릴수도 있다는것이었다 ;
거기에더해, 나는 신선놀음을 하는사주이니, 실컷 하고싶은대로 하면서
놀으라는 거였다, 사업하고싶으면 사업하고, 여행하고싶음 여행하고,
단, 결혼은 늦게하라고했다, 보통성격이 아니라서 살인날수도 있다고 ;
미국으로 대학을 오면서 나는 점쟁이들의 말을 실감하게 되었는데
철학수업을 들으면서 공부에빠지게되자 , 나는 정말 미친사람처럼
생각하고 행동하기 시작한 것이다 , 미국에 식구들도없고 친구들도
없었기에 나는 소크라테스가 나의 소울메이트 라는 등의 생각을하며
폐인같은생활을 하다가 심각한 우울증에걸려 강제로 한국으로
소환됐었다 ;
나의엄마는 딸이미치는 꼴은 볼수없었는지 갑자기 나에게 큰 돈을
쥐어주며 실컷놀으라말했고, 스물셋을 맞은 그 해부터 나는 홍대,
압구정의 클럽을 접수하며 일주일에 세번쯤은 기본으로 외박을 해주는
생활을 하게되었다, 급기야 나의엄마는 나의 쿨함에 반했는지
엄마의 사업체까지 나에게 물려주어 나는 그야말로 신선놀음에
방탕한 생활을 즐기게되었고 또다른 폐인의 생활로빠져들었다
명동한복판을 걸으며 내가 맘만먹으면 못꼬실 남자가없다고
생각할 정도였으니 ;
비정상적인생활이었지만 그래도 내 인생에서 가장 재미있던 시절
이 아닌가싶다, 비록 그 시절도 철준이를 만나면서 다 청산해야
했지만, 암튼 나는 철준이를만나면서부터 방탕한 생활은 접었지만
내가얼마나 보수적이고 속물적인 인간인지를 다시한번깨달았다
나는그때 강한 복수심에 불타올라있었는데 , 친절한금자씨처럼
완벽한 복수계획을 세우고 그것을 달성하기위해 다시 미국으로왔다
웃긴것은, 일년이 지난지금, 내 복수계획은 온데간데없어졌다는것 ,
왜냐하면 나에게 더 중요한 일이 생겼기때문인데,
그것은 공부를 더 할것이냐 말것이냐를 두고 내가 몇년동안 고민해온
결정을 이제는 더 이상 미룰수가없다는 것이다, 그런와중에
약기운땜에 하루종일 잠만자다가 엊그저께 그런꿈을
꾼 것이다, 정신없이 트렁크에 옷가지를 챙겨넣는 내 모습,
어디로가려고 그렇게 짐을꾸리고 있었을까,
꾼 것이다, 정신없이 트렁크에 옷가지를 챙겨넣는 내 모습,
어디로가려고 그렇게 짐을꾸리고 있었을까,
오늘밤 꿈에 정답이 보였으면 좋겠다.
그리고 친절한금자씨처럼 꼭 복수에 성공했으면 좋겠다.
인과응보라는 말이 어떤의미인지 정확하게 알게해주겠어, 철쭉대마왕!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
My Magazine Design
I designed this magazine cover for my Journalism class assignment :)
It's a shoe magazine and I used Balenciaga brand image for this assignment.
How To Make Your Relationship Last Longer
There are billions of people in the world and most of them are either in a relationship or have experiences of getting involved in serious relationships in their lives. Many people are having different types of relationships such as, multi-cultural relationships, same-sex relationships and so forth. As American culture is becoming more and more diverse, it seems like there is no limit or restrictions in having a relationship. Love is a good thing for everyone but sometimes love turns into a drama or into a tragedy. We all work hard to stay in a healthy relationship by understanding and caring the person we love. Yet, it takes a lot of effort and time to make our relationship lasts longer these days. Here are some considerations to maintain healthy, long-term relationships.
First, it is very important to maintain equality in a relationship. Love that only one person always decides for everything will not work when it comes to a long-term relationship. If you have a bossy personality, you should start gently asking your boyfriend or girlfriend what he or she would like to eat or what he or she would like to do on weekends. On the other hand, if you are the shy one in a relationship, you should practice more to speak up to brighten your love relationship. Not “anything is fine with me” but “I’d like Italian food for dinner today” will be better.
Secondly, we should learn how to reconcile after a fight. Fighting is not a strange thing to do for couples. We don’t fight because we hate each other but we fight because we love and care for each other so much. It’s probably hard to understand for some people but it’s true anyways. However, if we don’t know how to reconcile after a serious fight, then there isn’t much chance to keep your relationship for a long time. Rather than holding onto your ego, just saying “I’m sorry” can be an answer sometimes. The most dangerous thing to do is not fighting to your boyfriend or girlfriend. If there’s a tiny little complaint in your relationship, you should have a fight. You will find out things that are new with your boyfriend or girlfriend during fight. The important thing here is how to reconcile rather than fight itself.
Last but not least, trust always comes first in a serious relationship. Everyone loves to be with his or her lovers all the time, but that means you get to invest less and less time for your own good if you start to spend pretty much all of your free time with your boyfriend and girlfriend. That also means you are taking away your lover’s free time from him or her. There’s nothing more essential than respecting each other’s free time in a love relationship. It’s hard to believe but if you carry faith in yourself about your lover, it will become a cornerstone to build a strong long-term relationship.
Believe it or not, trusting the person you love no matter what happens is the secret of making your relationship lasts longer. True love begins from trust. It may be an old fashioned way, but it still works the best.
First, it is very important to maintain equality in a relationship. Love that only one person always decides for everything will not work when it comes to a long-term relationship. If you have a bossy personality, you should start gently asking your boyfriend or girlfriend what he or she would like to eat or what he or she would like to do on weekends. On the other hand, if you are the shy one in a relationship, you should practice more to speak up to brighten your love relationship. Not “anything is fine with me” but “I’d like Italian food for dinner today” will be better.
Secondly, we should learn how to reconcile after a fight. Fighting is not a strange thing to do for couples. We don’t fight because we hate each other but we fight because we love and care for each other so much. It’s probably hard to understand for some people but it’s true anyways. However, if we don’t know how to reconcile after a serious fight, then there isn’t much chance to keep your relationship for a long time. Rather than holding onto your ego, just saying “I’m sorry” can be an answer sometimes. The most dangerous thing to do is not fighting to your boyfriend or girlfriend. If there’s a tiny little complaint in your relationship, you should have a fight. You will find out things that are new with your boyfriend or girlfriend during fight. The important thing here is how to reconcile rather than fight itself.
Last but not least, trust always comes first in a serious relationship. Everyone loves to be with his or her lovers all the time, but that means you get to invest less and less time for your own good if you start to spend pretty much all of your free time with your boyfriend and girlfriend. That also means you are taking away your lover’s free time from him or her. There’s nothing more essential than respecting each other’s free time in a love relationship. It’s hard to believe but if you carry faith in yourself about your lover, it will become a cornerstone to build a strong long-term relationship.
Believe it or not, trusting the person you love no matter what happens is the secret of making your relationship lasts longer. True love begins from trust. It may be an old fashioned way, but it still works the best.
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