William Haynes has always been a savvy healthcare consumer, but he wasn’t always able to afford care, and he often went without health coverage. William watched his own parents struggle to get the care they needed to treat their diabetes without health insurance. Both passed away at a young age.

Nevertheless, as a “starter”—responsible for cleaning and welcoming tenants and visitors to a Flatiron office building each morning—and a 32BJ member, William received coverage through the Health Fund and switched to doctors at a 5 Star Center, where he pays a $0 copay for office visits. Thanks to the comprehensive services provided by his new doctors, he learned that he also had diabetes, which had gone undiagnosed and untreated for years.

In 2018, William woke up one morning and couldn’t breathe. At the ER, he found out that he was in respiratory failure and needed surgery. It was the scariest time, but William credits his Health Fund coverage for saving his life. Following his surgery, William decided to take advantage of the 32BJ Health Fund Centers of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery program to manage his diabetes. The program fully covered his surgery and follow-up care—he paid nothing. Today, William has lost more than 100 pounds and has transformed his life and his health.