Family blames cost of Walgreens asthma meds for son's death
(NewsNation) — A Wisconsin family is suing Walgreens after they say the rising costs of asthma medication led to the death of their 22-year-old son last year.
Cole Schmidtknecht suffered from asthma his entire life, and one day tried to get a refill on his inhaler — only to find out his medication, which typically cost less than $70, had skyrocketed to $500. He had a severe asthma attack five days after his pharmacy visit, stopped breathing, and collapsed, according to his father.
Schmidtknecht never regained consciousness and died. Doctors attributed his death to asthma.
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'Cole became very accustomed to asthma,' said Bil Schmidtknecht. 'His struggles were very traditional, as any asthmatic has. He was fortunate to have health insurance through us as he grew up. And we were very versed on asthma, as I have it and Shanon has it too. From a young age, we taught him how to manage it.'
Shanon Schmidtknecht, Cole's mother, revealed he had never had issues getting his medication before the incident, nor had she and her husband.
'It wasn't until I went to pick up Bill's same medication on the same insurance plan that we had realized what happened with the price increase,' she added.
Schmidtknecht's death caught the attention of Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., who shared his story on the House floor in December.
'Cole had his whole life ahead of him,' Auchincloss said. 'Because Cole was forced to choose between paying his rent or shelling out hundreds of dollars to cover his medication out of pocket for a drug that did not need to be that expensive, his family is without their loved one. There's no justification for a family facing Thanksgiving without their child. Cole's death was preventable.'
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Now, the Schmidtknecht family has chosen legal action against Walgreens and OptumRX. They allege OptumRX violated Wisconsin law by raising the cost of the medication without a valid medical reason and failing to provide 30 days' advance notice of drug price increases.
'There's blame to go around to OptumRX and Walgreens Pharmacy,' said Michael Trunk, the family's attorney. 'We have a young man who was on Advair Diskus for a decade, actively and effectively controlling his asthma.'
Walgreens, in a statement, said, 'Walgreens extends its deepest condolences over the tragic loss of Cole. While we are unable to discuss specific patient interactions due to privacy restrictions, in general, in cases where a medication is not covered by insurance, pharmacy staff may work with the plan patient, and/or prescriber in an effort to process and dispense the prescription if able.'
According to the Allergy and Asthma Network, the cost to treat asthma per person is $3,300.
Currently, 28 million people are suffering from asthma in the U.S, which amounts to $82 billion annually for health care costs.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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