A YOUNG man tragically died from an asthma attack after the cost of his inhaler skyrocketed from $66 to $500, according to a lawsuit filed by his family.

Cole Schmidtknecht, 22, had battled chronic asthma since childhood and relied on daily use of an Advair Diskus steroid inhaler to manage it.

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On January 10, 2024, the truck driver was denied the life-saving device when he went to pick up his prescription at a Walgreens in Wisconsin, US.

The pharmacist had told him that his medication would now cost $539.19 (£448) – a 700 per cent increase from his usual cost of $66.86 (£53.36).

Walgreens, a major US pharmacy chain whose owner Walgreens Boots Alliance bought Boots in 2014, stopped covering Cole’s usual prescription.

This came after OptumRx, the middleman between health insurers and pharmacies, changed its policy in autumn 2023.

However, in a phone interview with Newsweek, OptumRx stated it hadn’t changed its policy and that it was Schmidtknecht’s employer, Kriete Truck Center Green Bay, who altered his health insurance plan.

He was given no notice and, the lawsuit said, Walgreens did not offer him a cheaper, generic alternative,

Unable to afford the steep price, Cole left the store without his inhaler, the lawsuit alleges.

“He walked out and chose rent over his medicine,” William Schmidtknecht, Cole’s father, told local news channel WMTV 15.

The Sun has contacted Walgreens and Kriete Truck Center Green Bay via email for comment.

For five difficult days, he struggled to breathe, using only an emergency inhaler.

On January 15, Cole was driven to an emergency room by his roommate for a severe asthma attack.

But he “became unresponsive and pulseless in the car,” before reaching the ER according to the lawsuit.

Despite efforts to save him, he was pronounced dead.

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

Now, Cole’s family is taking action, filing a lawsuit against OptumRX, Walgreens, and Walgreens Boots Alliance.

They are seeking damages for negligence and wrongful death.

Cole was reportedly given no warning about the insurance coverage change, which violates Wisconsin state law requiring 30 days’ notice.

What is asthma and what are the key signs of an athma attack?

ASTHMA is a common lung condition that causes occasional breathing difficulties.

While it often starts in childhood, it affects people of all ages.

The main symptoms are:

• Wheezing
• Breathlessness
• A tight chest
• Coughing

When symptoms get worse in short bursts, this is known as an asthma attack.

While these happen randomly, there are some known triggers. These include:

• Allergies (e.g. pollen, house dust mites, animal fur)
• Smoke, pollution and cold air
• Exercise
• Infections like cold and flu

Asthma is usually treated using an inhaler – relievers and/or preventers.

It affects 5.4million people in the UK. That’s one in 12 adults and one in 11 children.

According to the lawsuit obtained by the news orgainsation, the Walgreens pharmacist should have contacted Cole’s doctor about alternative treatments, but failed to do so.

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

Cole “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. 

The legal battle will be heard by US District Judge Byron Browning Conway, a Biden appointee, according to Law and Crime. 

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