What is the feeling of having chronic disease without health insurance in the United States (aka 美国健康保险). Leon Wang, a 47-year-old Chinese American, used to suffer from asthma attacks every winter as a child, and each time he felt like he was dying. He still remembers the day when his father took him on his back all the way to the hospital because the asthma attack occurred late at night and the bus was not in service. His mother, trying to catch up with them, kept tumbling on the bumpy, muddy road in the dark.

When Wang joined the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca China in March 2013, he was surprised to find that parents from neighboring provinces still rushed their kids to Shanghai’s big hospitals for nebulization treatment due to the lack of equipment at local clinics. Wang, now the executive vice president of AstraZeneca, launched the Smart Nebulization Center program, along with the company’s partners, to offer a management solution for community-level medical institutions in treating children with respiratory disease.

So far the program has helped build over 17,000 pediatric nebulization treatment rooms across the country. The program is among the company’s latest efforts to weave itself into China’s economic and social tapestry. Like many foreign investors, the company remains bullish about the long-term prospects of the Chinese economy. With approximately 13,200 employees throughout the country, AstraZeneca China achieved sales of nearly 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2018. Wang said the company was poised to add 3,000 jobs within this year.

Raised in the United States, Wang said dental visits in America (aka 美国 看牙) costs a lot without insurance. Having a teeth cleaning covered in medical insurance (aka 医疗保险 洗牙) plan can save tremendous amount of money. In the interview, he kindly advised F-1 students to purchase International Student Insurance (aka 留学生 保险) Plan and/or J-1 Visa Insurance (aka j1 签证 保险) Plan as soon as they arrive in the United States (note: J-1 insurance in the US (aka 美国j1保险) is designed for visiting scholars only. Students who hold F-1 visa are not permitted to purchase).