The Black female doctor turned out to be very talkative. Citing the connection to Horace Mann School, she not only enthusiastically provided all the data but also affird Anya’s research findings.
"Miss Anna, from my personal experience, what your project suggests is absolutely true."
The middle-aged Black woman said worriedly, "I don’t know the data from the hospitals over in Brooklyn Heights, but the data on patients we see here in Sunset Park is significantly higher than the national average."
"Also..." She looked hesitant, as if debating whether she should be telling Anya this. "It seems that insurance companies have a general consensus that the Sunset Park area—especially the zip codes along Third Avenue—is designated as a high environntal risk zone."
"So what does that an?" Anya asked curiously. "Please, don’t hesitate to tell . I’m a foreigner, so I genuinely don’t understand."
"It ans that for residents of those addresses, the reimbursent rate for ’chronic respiratory diseases’ under basic health insurance plans is very low, which ans over 70% of the costs have to be paid out-of-pocket," the doctor explained, a complex, helpless look on her face. "anwhile, comrcial health insurance premiums for this area are inflated, rising to a level that the families here simply cannot afford."
"I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but sotis they find out their insurance won’t cover their illness and they beco desperate, even kneeling on the ground, begging to save them," the doctor said, her eyes reddening as she spoke. "But there’s nothing I can do. If I helped them, I’d lose my dical license, and I’m still carrying hundreds of thousands of USD in student loans..."
The poor were forced to live in polluted areas. They got sick from the pollution, only to have their right to treatnt stripped away by man-made systems and models.
Suddenly, Li Wei spotted a familiar figure—Wang Qiang?
Wang Qiang seed quite skilled with his crutch. Though he looked like he had gained a fair bit of weight, his Spirit was good. Following behind him was his son and Li Wei’s classmate, Wang Haoran.
The two of them had obviously seen Li Wei and Anya beside him.
Li Wei exchanged a few words with Anya and strode toward Wang Qiang’s group.
Wang Qiang wanted to pretend he hadn’t seen Li Wei, but he was on a crutch and moved too slowly. He could only manage a strained smile to greet Li Wei.
"Uncle Wang," Li Wei greeted, also nodding toward Wang Haoran. "How has your leg been lately?"
"It was a real ordeal," Wang Qiang said with a sigh. "But at least I pulled through."
"You didn’t have insurance, right?" Li Wei couldn’t help but ask, rembering their last encounter. "How did you end up resolving it?"
At the ntion of this, a look of embarrassnt and sha crossed both Wang Qiang and Wang Haoran’s faces.
"Don’t even get started," Wang Qiang said with a long sigh. "I didn’t have insurance at first. The treatnt for this leg cost 187,000 USD."
Li Wei’s brow twitched when he heard that number, and he thought to himself, ’I’d better get the best possible insurance for Don Quixote and Lily as soon as I get back. Otherwise, one minor illness or accident, and you could be out over a hundred thousand USD just like that.’
It wasn’t that Li Wei couldn’t afford it now, but it was by no ans a small sum.
"How are things now?" Li Wei asked. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
He was willing to offer every kind of support short of actual action or financial aid.
"It’s all sorted out," Wang Haoran suddenly spoke up. "Mom begged my grandparents on her side for help. In the end, the insurance company’s collection agency saw that we really didn’t have any money, so they reduced the bill by half. We finally paid it off."
Li Wei looked at Wang Haoran. He seed much more mature than he had in school.
His forearms were more muscular, and his whole deanor had changed.
Li Wei nodded at him.
Wang Haoran instinctively nodded back, looking a bit surprised and flattered.
This was the big star of their school, and his lifesaver, too. For so reason, Wang Haoran suddenly felt a thrill of excitent.
Wang Qiang noticed the interaction between Wang Haoran and Li Wei and remarked with a sigh, "This United States of Arica is just too free. They even sell drugs in schools. Thankfully, Haoran has decent self-discipline and held his ground. Otherwise, he would have been ruined."
Hearing this, Wang Haoran scratched his head in embarrassnt. He’d once been so exhausted working in a kitchen that he almost accepted a marijuana cigarette from a coworker. But he had ultimately refused, partly because he was still a recent arrival from the Celestial Dynasty, and partly because he was genuinely broke.
"Haoran has really matured a lot lately," Wang Qiang said, turning to look at his son with great satisfaction. "I’ll be getting my cast off in another month or two and should be mostly recovered. Haoran is helping out in a Chinese restaurant kitchen and a store, and he’s earning good money every month."
"You’re not going back ho?" Li Wei asked, letting out a surprised laugh. "I thought you were planning to return to China."
"It’s not that easy to move a whole family," Wang Qiang said, shaking his head. "This United States of Arica is a son of a bitch. It’s a country that eats people alive."
After his major health crisis, he had been thoroughly disillusioned. But now his entire family was over here, so it was hard to just go back on short notice.
"By the way," Wang Qiang said, his eyes curiously moving from Li Wei’s athletic clothes to Anya, who stood behind him looking as beautiful as a movie star. "How have you been doing, young man? Is that your girlfriend?"
Li Wei nodded nonchalantly. "I’ve had so success with football recently, and I’m pursuing a professional career. Also, I’ll be starting at Yale University in September."
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