A complaint alleges that a young man died after the price of an inhaler skyrocketed from $66 to $539

According to The Kansas City Star, Cole, a young guy from Wisconsin with a promising future, had suffered from chronic asthma since he was a baby. With daily doses of the prophylactic inhaler Advair Diskus, he was able to live a full life despite his disability.

Cole’s prescription drugs were reasonably priced and covered by his insurance for many years. When he visited Walgreens in January 2024, he received the startling news that his life-saving prescription was no longer covered. $539 is the new pricing.

On January 10, 2024, Cole went to his neighbourhood Walgreens to get his prescription filled, like he always did. However, he was informed that his insurance no longer covered Advair Diskus, so he chose not to pay his customary $66.

The chemist allegedly informed him that no generics or less expensive options were available and neglected to get in touch with his insurance provider or physician to find a solution.

Cole, devastated and distraught, walked out of the pharmacy without his prescription. He used an old emergency inhaler to control his breathing throughout the next few days. Tragic events occurred five days later. Cole was unable to breathe due to a severe asthma episode. He lost consciousness while being transported to the emergency department by his roommate.

Cole never recovered consciousness despite the doctors’ valiant attempts to resuscitate him. His parents made the painful decision to release him from life support after he had been there for six days. On January 21, 2024, Cole was officially declared deceased.

Since then, Cole’s distraught parents have sued Walgreens and pharmaceutical benefit manager OptumRx, claiming that they put profits ahead of patients. A Walgreens representative informed HuffPost that because of the ongoing legal proceedings, they were unable to respond.

According to the lawsuit, OptumRx changed its formulary in 2024, forcing patients taking Advair Diskus or a generic version of it to have a doctor’s prior authorisation. However, the lawsuit claims that Cole was not informed by Walgreens or his insurance that his prescription would no longer be covered, which is a blatant disregard for state law.

The family’s lawyer, Michael Trunk, didn’t mince words when he spoke: “The evidence in this case will demonstrate that Cole’s death was directly caused by OptumRx and Walgreens, who prioritised profits.”

Additionally, the lawsuit claims that OptumRx participated in “non-medical switching,” a practice in which pharmacy benefit managers pressure patients to take more costly drugs in return for manufacturer kickbacks. OptumRx allegedly only covered Cole’s two more recent brand-name medications, whose producers allegedly paid large rebates to get a good place on the formulary.

Outrage and calls for reform have been triggered by Cole’s terrible story. During a congressional hearing in December, Massachusetts Representative Jake Auchincloss paid tribute to Cole and urged lawmakers to enact the Pharmacists Fight Back Act. The proposed law aims to stop pharmaceutical benefit managers from price-gouging and stop situations like Cole’s from occurring in the future.

The conflict is personal to Cole’s family. They hope his story will raise awareness of the terrible effects of a dysfunctional healthcare system and seek justice for their kid. Schmidtknecht’s family lawyer told WMTV, “We hope that this lawsuit and Cole’s death will lead them to kind of reflect on their own policies and change their policies going forward.” We must ensure that Cole’s story gets heard. To raise awareness and initiate a dialogue about the issues facing our healthcare system, share this article.