NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Jody Ortman thought he was stuck with a tab of more than $25,000 after four days in the hospital. He had just had a stroke, and found out his employer had discontinued his health coverage two weeks earlier.
Ortman worked most recently at Chow Norfolk, and before that for ten years at Tortilla West. The owner of both restaurants, Jonathan Boggs, closed them two weeks ago, shortly after his business partners in another restaurant sued him.
Ortman says he thought his coverage was in effect when he entered Sentara Heart Hospital January 12. That’s when he learned that the coverage was discontinued December 31.
He spent four days in the hospital and had numerous tests, includig CAT scans and MRIs. The hospital worked with him but he was still on the hook for a huge bill.
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“It was gonna be at minimum $26,000,” Ortman said.
Boggs faces a million dollar lawsuit by his partners in another restaurant, A.W. Shucks. They allege that Boggs embezzled money from the A.W. Shucks partnership.
We covered Ortman’s financial jam last week and shortly afterward it was Boggs’s girlfriend who came through for Ortman.
“She said to me she withdrew money from her personal account to get the insurance re-activated, and backdated to January first, and that all happened.”
She paid more than $500 dollars to reinstate Ortman’s coverage. “I was pretty surprised, considering she didn’t have to do that.”
Ortman says his blood pressure is now under control — down from the 279 / 140 spike he had at the hospital. He says his health is in much better shape, and so is his checkbook.
“Financially I’m in definitely a far better spot than I was a week ago. I appreciate y’all’s help.”
Ortman says the insurance won’t cover everything. He will still have to pay several thousand dollars out of pocket for his treatment, and a fundraiser organized on his behalf will help cover that.