Vagabond

A 22-year-old’s inhaler jumped from $66 to $539 overnight. Unable to afford both his medication and rent, he paid rent. Five days later, he suffered a fatal asthma attack. On January 10, 2024, Cole Schmidtknecht went to refill the daily preventative inhaler he had relied on for years. Because his insurance no longer covered it, the price had risen to $539.19. Cole left without the medication and relied on his emergency rescue inhaler instead. On January 15, he suffered a severe asthma attack. His roommate rushed him toward the hospital, but Cole became unresponsive and went into cardiac arrest. He suffered catastrophic brain damage and was placed on life support. Six days later, on January 21, his family made the decision to remove life support. Cole passed away aged just 22. His parents later sued Walgreens and pharmacy-benefit manager OptumRx, alleging he had received no advance warning of the coverage change and was not offered an affordable alternative. They argue that losing access to his preventative medication led directly to his fatal asthma attack. The companies have contested the allegations, and the federal case remains ongoing.