TEMPLE, Ga. -- A police officer in metro Atlanta received some good news, nearly one week after finding out he had an expensive medical condition that wasn't covered by health insurance.
Officer Justin Jordan said he received a call from his pharmacy on Thursday, letting him know that everything was finally approved and his medication -- which he was told would cost nearly $90,000 -- would be fully covered and paid for.
"I just want to thank everyone in the metro Atlanta area for their support and encouragement. Thank you for standing beside me," Jordan said.
Jordan, who has been with the Temple Police Department for about a year, said he was promised health insurance when he was hired.
However, when he was diagnosed with an expensive medical condition, Jordan realized he wasn't covered under the city's healthcare program. He said he filled out the paperwork for medical insurance through the City of Temple, but for some reason it wasn't processed.
ORIGINAL STORY | Police officer finds out he has no insurance after getting diagnosed with expensive illness
"Here I am working in the streets every day. I became a cop to make a difference and help someone in need," Jordan said. "For me to be working and putting my life on the line and finding out I wasn't covered was a huge letdown."
Temple's city administrator confirmed to 11Alive last week that someone dropped the ball with Jordan's paperwork, but the city was working to fix the problem.
Amanda Poss, Jordan's friend, set up a fundraising page that describes what he has been going through and to help him with his bills.
Jordan said he will use the money raised by the community to help him cover his medical co-pays and any other issues that might pop up.
While he wants to keep his medical diagnosis private, Jordan said he hopes his story serves as a warning to others.
"Just make sure ... if they say you have health insurance, double check and triple check that you do," he encouraged.
His prognosis is good and he said he's relieved everything worked out -- but now he faces a difficult road ahead of intensive medical treatments and medications that could cause side effects like headaches, drowsiness or insomnia.
"I've talked to my supervisor about what will happen if I need to take some time off," Jordan said. "Family support is everything, and I have a lot of great coworkers."
