Cole Schmidtknecht’s life was cut short at age 22 because he couldn’t afford to pay for his asthma inhaler. Now, his parents are requesting damages from the institutions involved in the sale of the product.

Cole’s parents blame Walgreens Pharmacy and United Health Group’s OptumRx for their actions which inadvertently led to the death of their son. The 22-year-old student had since suffered from asthma but managed to survive on his corticosteroid inhaler.

According to the lawsuit obtained by Law & Crime, Cole Schmidtknecht worked with Green Bay, earning hourly. His salary was modest enough and was backed by a self-insured plan linking his employer to United Health Group. This helped him secure his Advair Diskus inhaler between $35 to $66.86, as against $530.

However, OptumRx, the pharmaceutical group upgraded the list of drugs to cover in 2024. Following the change, Cole’s inhaler was reportedly excluded from the self-insured plan. Cole’s parents now argue that OptumRx violated Wisconsin law that required businesses to give a heads-up to patients.

This notification was supposed to have come about a month before they effect the change. Unfortunately, Cole knew nothing about the change until he attempted to make the next purchase scheduled for January 10, 2024. At the time, the student was hit with the news that his inhaler costs $539 and that he was not eligible for purchase as his self-insurance plan no longer covers it.

According to the Schmidtknechts, Walgreen Pharmacy did nothing to help Cole, and neither did OptumRx notify the asthma patient. Sadly, five days after he visited the pharmacy, Cole suffered a severe asthma attack. Finally, on January 21, the student was taken off life support.

#Clique, what are your thoughts?