A young man has died after the price of his inhaler suddenly jumped from $66 to $540.
Cole Schmidtknecht, 22, had chronic asthma since childhood. On January 10, 2024, he went to a Walgreens pharmacy in Appleton, Wisconsin to pick up his usual life-saving inhaler.

But this time, the pharmacist told him the cost was now $539.19—far more than the $66.86 he usually paid. His insurance no longer covered it after OptumRX changed its policy in late 2023.
Cole couldn’t afford it, so he left the store without his inhaler.
For the next five days, he struggled to breathe, using only an emergency inhaler. But it wasn’t enough.
On January 15, 2024, he suffered a severe asthma attack. Emergency responders found him unconscious and turning blue. Doctors tried to save him, but it was too late.

His family made the painful decision to take him off life support on January 21.
Now, Cole’s parents are fighting back. They are suing OptumRX, Walgreens, and Walgreens Boots Alliance for negligence and wrongful death.
The lawsuit claims Cole was never warned about the insurance change, which violates Wisconsin state law requiring 30 days’ notice.

It also says the Walgreens pharmacist should have contacted Cole’s doctor to find a cheaper alternative but failed to do so.
The lawsuit states, “Cole had to rely on an old rescue inhaler, instead of a daily preventative one.”
The case will be heard by US District Judge Byron Browning Conway.

Meanwhile, a new report is raising concerns about insurance companies and drug prices.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that UnitedHealth Group (UHG), CVS, and Cigna have been overcharging patients for medications.
The FTC report says pharmacy benefit managers—companies that control drug prices—added $7.3 billion in hidden costs over five years.

One of those companies is OptumRX, the same one involved in Cole’s case.