Man, 22, dies after price of his inhaler rose from $66 to $540, lawsuit alleges

His family have launched a lawsuit

Cole Schmidtknecht, 22, who had battled chronic asthma since childhood, was allegedly denied his life-saving inhaler when he went to collect his prescription at Walgreens pharmacy in Appleton, Wisconsin on January 10, 2024.

The pharmacist informed him that his medication will now cost $539.19, usually the medication cost $66.86.

Walgreens had suddenly refused to cover his usual prescription under insurance after OptumRX changed its policy in the fall of 2023, the lawsuit said.

Schmidtknecht was allegedly unable to afford the astronomical price hike and left the store without his inhaler.

For five days Schmidtknecht struggled to breathe using an emergency inhaler.

He passed away on January 15, 2024 after suffering a fatal asthma attack. When emergency responders arrived they found Schmidtknecht unconscious and blue.

His devastated parents made the decision to remove life support on January 21.

His family have now launched a lawsuit against OptumRX, Walgreens and Walgreens Boots Alliance.

They're seeking damages for negligence and wrongful death.

They claim that Schmidtknecht was given no warning about the insurance cover change which violates Wisconsin state law which requires 30 days notice.

According to the lawsuit obtained by Newsweek, the Walgreens pharmacist should have contacted Schmidtknecht's physician about alternative treatments, but failed to do so.

The pharmacist 'never provided Schmidtknecht with any more affordable workarounds to obtain his usual inhaler for his chronic asthma,' the lawsuit read.

Schmidtknecht 'repeatedly struggled to breathe, relying solely on his old 'rescue' (emergency) inhaler to limit his symptoms, because he did not have a preventative inhaler designed for daily use,' according to the lawsuit. 

It comes just months after Ivy League graduate Luigi Mangione was charged with murder for allegedly gunning down Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare on a Manhattan sidewalk on December 4.

A damning report issued earlier this year revealed UnitedHealth Group had been overcharging some cancer patients over 1,000 per cent for life-changing drugs.

The Federal Trade Commission findings, which also names and shames CVS and Signa, comes as UHG reported huge profits.

UHG's net income rose slightly to $5.54billion in the last quarter of 2024, despite the death of Thompson.