Esteban Serrano, a software engineer and Phoenixville resident, received an unpleasant surprise when he discovered he was being billed more than $800 for a hinged knee brace after a soccer injury, writes Paula Andalo for Minnesota Public Radio.

Serrano, who grew up playing soccer in his native Ecuador, hurt his knee during a game with friends last October. The pain was bad enough that he made a doctor’s appointment.

After he was diagnosed with a strain of the medial collateral ligament, Serrano was given a prescription for over-the-counter pain medication and a hinged knee brace. Serrano used the brace for several weeks until he healed.

He expected his treatment to be covered by his insurance, but that was not the case. Instead, he received a bill for $1,197, including $829.41 for the brace.

“You can find the same brace for less than $250 online,” he said.

After examining the return policy, he found it was only seven days and his window had passed. Luckily, he could pay it, but he said that, for someone else, this could be rent money or three months of groceries.

According to Dr. Matthew Matava, chief of sports medicine for Washington University Physicians in St. Louis, braces and other products “are often marked up two or three times what the cost is, and unfortunately, that is the standard practice.”

Read more about Esteban Serrano from Minnesota Public Radio here.

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