Walking boot helped to heal teen’s broken foot but the cost dealt quite a kick

When Jennifer and Bryan Alger’s 13-year-old son injured himself playing soccer, the Portland parents took him directly from the field to urgent care, where the teen was diagnosed with a broken foot and fitted with a walking boot.

“We didn’t think it would be a large-ticket item,” Jennifer Alger told KGW television.

The assumption proved to be incorrect. The Algers received a bill from a medical device company demanding $129. At first, the Algers thought their insurance would cover the cost. But then they learned that insurance had already paid the company $300.

That meant the total charge for the boot was almost $430. That’s a lot of money. But Jennifer Alger was particularly outraged when she discovered the same boot on sale online for $50. And Amazon was selling it for $64.99.

“My expectation is that I’m going to be charged a reasonable market rate,” she said. “I don’t expect that I’m going to be taken advantage of when I go to the ER or urgent care.”

The Algers did what many smart consumers do: They asked the medical device company to withdraw the $129 bill; especially since the company had already been paid more than twice that much by insurance.

At least, so far, the company isn’t budging. It claims that the Algers signed a waiver at urgent care agreeing to pay whatever insurance didn’t cover.

If she had it to do again, Jennifer said she would have declined the boot and ordered it  online. She’d have it the next day for a much lower cost.

Have you or someone in your family suffered the same cost shock for a medical device? Share your story with Voices for Affordable Health.