A family from Wisconsin has filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. This case comes after the death of their son, who died last year due to a severe asthma attack.
The family asserts that the exorbitant price of their son’s asthma treatment, which they attribute mostly to the influence of pharmaceutical middlemen corporations called pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), was a direct factor in his death.
The complaint was filed exactly one year after Cole Schmidtknecht, who was 22 years old, died from cardiac arrest after suffering a fatal asthma attack. Cole did not have his inhaler with him when the episode happened.
His family claims that he was compelled to stop using his inhaler since the price of his prescription rose dramatically. He was unable to afford the life-saving medication he sorely required because of this price increase.
The complaint is especially aimed at Optum Rx, the pharmacy benefit manager that is in charge of managing Cole Schmidtknecht’s health plan.
Optum Rx has been accused of negligence by the family, who are seeking punitive damages for the company’s involvement in what they say was a direct cause of their son’s death. Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that Optum Rx broke three distinct laws in the state of Wisconsin.
According to the family’s attorney, Optum Rx’s actions were a blatant failure to fulfill their obligations, which eventually resulted in Cole being unable to get the prescription that his doctor recommended.
Cole was told at the point of sale that his prescription was no longer covered when he tried to refill his asthma medication at a Walgreens pharmacy in Appleton, Wisconsin, according to the lawsuit.
The price of the inhaler had increased from a modest $5.00 to almost $540, so this news was surprising. Cole was unable to afford the medication he desperately required because of the PBM’s decision, which resulted in a significant rise in price.
Cole experienced a catastrophic asthma attack just a few days later, which resulted in his untimely death.
The lawsuit also claims that Walgreens did not tell patients, including Cole, that Optum Rx had taken his asthma medication off of their coverage list.
Fire Chief from Georgia Shot Dead After Helping Driver Struck by Deer in Alabama
The family argues that the pharmacy was obligated to inform individuals with asthma about the changes in their coverage, especially when it came to essential prescriptions like the one Cole required to stay alive.
Young Ohio Siblings Found in Iceland Following Long Disappearance
The family hopes that the lawsuit will raise awareness about the role that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play in deciding drug prices and the catastrophic repercussions that these prices may have on patients’ lives.
A portion of a statement from the counsel for the Schmidtknecht family reads as follows:
“The conduct of both OptumRx and Walgreens was deplorable. The evidence in this case will show that both OptumRx and Walgreens put profits first, and are directly responsible for Cole’s death.”
