Health Care

For CSUSB students, healthcare is incredibly important and they have been searching for those basic medical aids in the community at an affordable price.

There are many resources on campus that are affordable or at no cost.

For uninsured university students, the health center provides students coverage for just $90.26 per quarter.

This includes seeing a doctor, psychologist, and basic care.

But when it comes to x-rays and medicine, the cost is at a low fee.

Vaccinations like the flu shot, are being provided for free this quarter for students, while it is $10 for faculty and staff on November 7 at the SMSU.

The California Health Care Almanac has provided a health insurance statistic of all ages in the Riverside and San Bernardino County.

The table demonstrates that 42 percent of the population has private insurance, 9.9 percent have Medicare and 30.9 percent have either Medi-Cal or other public program.

This leaves 17.2 percent of the population without any insurance.

When both counties are combined, there are about 4.4 million people living there.

The California Health Care Foundation saw a recent insurance rate decline ever since October 2015 because of many people enrolling and gaining Medi-Cal.

CSUSB College of Natural Sciences professor, Yeon Kim, provided some support for people that don’t have insurance.

“California Care Force is a really big organization that can be found in northern California and provide free clinics in southern California,” said Kim.

After the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, 1 in 10 Americans remain without health coverage, according to the California Care Force.

Obamacare expands Medicaid coverage to those with low incomes that have been in jeopardy.

The organization travels from northern to southern California to give a lending hand to those people who don’t have insurance with basic medical care.

One of their upcoming free clinic events is early next year on March 23-25 at the Riverside County Fairgrounds located in Indio.

The University of Riverside, School of Medicine provides their very own free clinic as well.

Located in San Bernardino, the clinic helps underserved patients with various care of health screenings like hearing, mental health and blood pressure.

Flu and pneumonia vaccines and acute medical care are also provided by nurse practitioners, undergraduate students and medical practitioners that are all supervised by the university’s faculty.

“Something should be done because undocumented immigrants are contributing to the economy and should be getting service at least with a low cost,” said Kim.

There are talks about Trumpcare, and so far, Obamacare has gone from 750,000 people without coverage, down to about 350,000 in the Inland Empire.

But despite these numbers, the professor believes that’s not enough.

“The government has provided some service for the people who are uninsured, but it’s limited and we need more of that service to be expanded,” said Kim.

According to Professor Kim, just using a hospital room and being checked for a single day can cost around $3,000 for an uninsured person.

“Of course no one is free of diseases, so it’s best to go or research online about low cost or free medical services that are close to you,” shared Kim.

In September, Kaiser Permanente announced that they will open 31 more retail clinics in Target stores that will expand to Hemet, Irvine, Chula Vista and Santee in the next three years.

Currently, there are four open clinics that are located in Fontana, Fullerton, San Diego and Vista, where the have cared for more than 50,000 patients.

The fee is $75 per visit on weekdays and weekends, and if necessary, it also includes a teleconference with a doctor.

Awareness is key. Professor Kim suggests people to be aware of the events that churches or any non-profit organizations give out about health care services.