During his third year of law school, Freddie Effinger was diagnosed with late stage Hodgkin's lymphoma. While trying to cope with this news, Effinger’s troubles were compounded by another matter. He was uninsured.
HuffPost Live Host Nancy Redd spoke with Effinger about his struggle to fight for his health while also battling the unwieldy world of medical bills.
“I panicked,” Effinger said of his initial diagnosis. “I consulted with my oncologist and he started throwing out these giant numbers that I can’t even wrap my head around. $10,000 for treatment. $20,000 for treatment. And I had to have twelve of them. And he told me, what you’re going to have to do is, you’re going to have to go to this hospital and beg for your life. You’ll have to get yourself treatment somehow.”
Effinger and Redd were joined by Kevin Flynn, President of HealthCare Advocates, Hanna Olsen a blogger who wasn't insured her whole adult life until just a few months ago, BJ Gallagher, whose former daughter-in-law committed suicide when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Ramiro Castro, an AOL encoder who broke his leg while unemployed and uninsured.
Read more about Effinger’s experience.