A 22-year-old man sadly died after the price of inhalers rose from $66 to $540.
Cole Schmidtknecht who had chronic asthma his entire life, could not afford his life saving prescription and was denied at a Walgreens in Appleton, Wisconsin on January 10, 2024.
The pharmacist had told him that his medication would be $539.19 instead of the usual $66.86.
The chain had refused to cover his usual prescription under insurance cover after OptumRX changed their policy in 2023.
For five days, the young man struggled for every breath, living without his inhaler. All he had available to him was an emergency inhaler.
Sadly, he suffered a fatal asthma attack on January 15. Paramedics found him blue and unconscious.
On January 21, his parents made the heartbreaking decision to take him off life support.
Now, the Schmidtknecht family have launched a lawsuit against OptumRX, Walgreens and Walgreens Boots Alliance for wrongful death and negligence.
The 22-year-old had no notice of change in the price of his medication which breaks Wisconsin law – he should have had 30 days notice.
The pharmacist should also have contacted his doctor about alternative options, according to the lawsuit.
The Walgreens pharmacist ‘never provided Cole with any more affordable workarounds to obtain his usual inhaler for his chronic asthma,’ the lawsuit read.
Heartbreaking, RIP.
