22-Year-Old With Chronic Asthma Died After Inhaler Price Went From $66 to $539: Lawsuit

[Wicked Blue]

Last edited Thu Jan 30, 2025, 08:03 PM - Edit history (1)

HuffPost
By Pocharapon Neammanee
Jan 29, 2025, 08:22 PM EST |Updated 5 hours ago

The parents of a 22-year-old Wisconsin man who died after an asthma attack have filed a lawsuit against Walgreens and UnitedHealth Group’s pharmacy benefit manager after they said the price for his medication suddenly rose from $66 to $539.

Cole Schmidtknecht, 22, had lived with asthma since he was a baby, but he was able to manage his symptoms by taking Advair Diskus, a preventative inhaler, every day, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court last week. Since 2023, Schmidtknecht had health insurance through his employer that covered his medication, which cost him no more than $66.86 each month.

However, when Schmidtknecht went to his local Walgreens pharmacy on Jan. 10, 2024, to fill his prescription, he was informed that his medication was no longer covered by his insurance, according to the lawsuit. Advair Diskus would now cost Schmidtknecht $539.19 out of pocket, and the pharmacy allegedly told him there were no cheaper alternatives or generic medications available to him. The lawsuit also says the pharmacist failed to contact Schmidtknecht’s physician or insurance company to seek an alternative.

A spokesperson for Walgreens told HuffPost they could not comment due to the pending litigation.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cole-schmidtknecht-lawsuit-inhaler-walgreens-optumrx_n_679a92aae4b09f65216c9280

Note: I also got faced last year with the huge price increase on this inhaler. Luckily my doctor and CVS worked things out with Cigna and put me on the generic Wixela. Now I'm using a no-name fluticasone inhaler. I paid zero for a three-month supply just a few days ago, and I wonder if President Joe Biden's effort to lower drug prices had something to do with the no-cost prescription.

[sakabatou]

1. Thanks, Repukes, for sticking to your cult of death

Blood is on their hands.

[Initech]

5. It is only going to get worse, I fear.

Fuck all of them.

[AllaN01Bear]

21. here are your death panels .

[Evolve Dammit]

45. Insurance companies.

[samplegirl]

59. Some crazy bitch

Is telling me Biden was president then. On January 10

[ShazzieB]

31. Oh, it'll get worse all right.

I think we can count on that. In fact, it's the ONLY thing we can count on right now.

[Raiden70]

67. Come back Alan!

[RicROC]

77. Alan Grayson! I was trying to think of his name the other day

We need him back and out in front!

[hlthe2b]

2. How many times will incidents like this be repeated...?

May Karma come soon and intensely...

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. About 60,000 times a year? Yes? Generally speaking.

[Jerry2144]

9. Too many times

Even if it happens only one more time. Corporate greed and billionaire love of money is evil.

[slightlv]

47. I so agree...

Your reply brought back the words of a conversation I had with my Grandma, a preacher. I said money is just pure evil. I made the comment in a 15-yo's righteous anger at some corporate greed back then. She looked at me and said, No... money is just a tool. The LOVE of money is the ROOT of ALL evil.

I'm turning 69 next week, and that conversation is still as strong in me now as it was back then...

[LoisB]

4. Disgusting. I am so sorry, Cole, that you lived in a country with the "world's greatest health

care system". Strength for their journey to his family and friends.

[exboyfil]

6. UHC for my wife

She takes a pen injector every week for her medical condition. Last year the dosage amount was not available and only the half dosage was available. UHC refused to pay for the second pen necessary for her to reach her prescription. Took it as far as I could. The half dosages really messed her up until the correct dosage pen was available.

I think a lot of it is tied to the employer as well. My old employer used the prescription to reach deductible. My new employer (still with UHC) paid nearly the full cost of the medicine without needing to satisfy the deductible.

Corporations love the inelastic demand curve on medicine.

[Ms. Toad]

53. It is tied to the plan.

Most insurance companies offer a variety of plans - low deductible, high deductible, low co-pays, high copays, FSA, HSA, etc., better coverage on meds; worse on health or vice versa.

It's only employer-related to the extent that the employer chooses the plan.

[MagickMuffin]

7. With the death of Cole, UH benefit manager can finally afford that costly wine

Now he’ll have the courage to turn down more claims. Gotta have some expensive cigars to go with that wine.


I’m so sorry Cole that your life meant nothing to these “people” who are supposed to be looking out for our WellCare we pay into. May your journey continue and your parents be rewarded for your justice!

[Irish_Dem]

28. I am convinced UHC staff are paid for each claim they reject.

They lie and cheat too much and fight too hard for there not to be direct personal gain.
So yes you are right.

Cole's death got the insurance company employee an extra bottle of wine.

[dalton99a]

33. +1. There are bonuses for rejections, not approvals.

The more efficient the employee/contractor is at REJECTING a claim, the bigger the paycheck

[Irish_Dem]

35. I worked in healthcare for decades and fought with insurance companies every day.

It was obvious that the insurance company employees were so angry, adamant, lied and pretended
to be ignorant of legitimate approvals and their company polices that I knew it was quite personal for them.
And that meant a money motive.

When you confront them about how much money they are making for each denial they hang up on you.
So I know I hit pay dirt, it was the truth.

[dalton99a]

39. +1. Those people have zero compassion or integrity.

They lie every day. Doesn't bother them at all

[Irish_Dem]

40. Lies which get people killed.

[Raiden70]

66. Luigi them!

[ShazzieB]

81. Compassion and intergrity are liabilities in those jobs.

People who have those qualities probably don't last long. They either leave when they realize what the deal is or stick around just long enough to get fired for not rejecting enough claims.

I'm just speculating, of course, but I'd be surprised if that isn't what happens.

[RicROC]

78. pharmacychecker.com

order via Canada

[milestogo]

8. OMG

To die of a treatable illness due to cost. Its like we're an under developed country.

[ancianita]

15. We ARE an underdeveloped country. The maternal and infant mortality rate is a measure of the

general health and human welfare and quality of life worldwide.

Out of 227 countries the US ranks 64th in the world for maternal mortality and 54th in infant mortality.

https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/maternal-mortality-ratio/country-comparison/

https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/infant-mortality-rate/country-comparison/

[AZ8theist]

68. It's not "underdeveloped". The proper label is "SHITHOLE"

[ancianita]

80. lol thanks for your opinion even tho' it's not a data category.

You and I both know there's absolutely no reason for this rich OECD nation to have the lowest rank in maternal and mortality rates. We have that rank because for decades corporate for profit health care and corporate lobbyists have literally paid congressional folks to ignore the health and welfare of The People.

Because the richest 300 families' wealth hoarding is legal, doesn't mean they should be excused from paying taxes at 1950's rates.

A poor country is an unfree country. The rich 1% that enforce paycheck-to-paycheck poverty on the other 99% are fascist third world tyrants -- actually, parasites on the body politic.

[AZ8theist]

84. It's absolutely ridiculous that the richest country on Earth..........

....doesn't have UNIVERSAL, FREE HEALTHCARE for all of it's citizens.

The rest of the so-called "first world" does it, why can't we?
You are correct: Greed and nothing but GREED has made our health system stupidly expensive when it didn't have to be.
You can thank the Republicans for that, with enablers in the Democratic party as well.

The rich are parasites, all right.
(that just may make a cool bumper sticker ..!!)

[ancianita]

85. Amen.

Thanks for thinkin' about a bumper sticker. Here's a medium & short one:

1%=Parasites on the Body Politic

1%=U.S. Parasites

[3auld6phart]

20. It

Is why would anybody want live in that gawd damn Hell gold. Backwards jeezus crispus. And it’s only going to get worse , with an orange abomination in charge.

[Evolve Dammit]

46. We are.

[Duncan Grant]

10. People before profit.

Today would be a good day to start talking about the failures of capitalism — fearlessly.

[Paladin]

11. Now there's a story that ought to be headlined...

...in every news outlet in the country.

Maybe the New York Times can fit it in---if they cut back on Maureen Dowd's softball trump articles for a little extra room...

[HarryM]

12. We really need

more Luigis if they are going to continue their logic. The logic that the shareholders are more important than the clients. That each life has a price. A very low price to them. More Luigis could help them to understand just how much those lives are worth.

[whathehell]

55. Um, no..No more murders on either side of the issue

but thanks for sharing..

[HarryM]

72. Only a last resort

All other methods seem to have failed

[Grumpy Old Guy]

13. Wixela is generic Advair.

I took it for years.

https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/wixela-inhub-advair-diskus-3510619/

[rasputin1952]

14. Sad...

This comes out after the kid's death.

Not on you, how could you know?

[questionseverything]

23. The pharmacist said there weren't any alternatives available

Which is one reason Walgreens is getting sued but ultimately it’s United healthcare that’s responsible for, they hired the middle man company just to deny claims

“May another hero rise among us “

[mwooldri]

36. First thing I googled was ...

"Is Advair available on the NHS"

Answer: yes, in generic form. He would in England have to pay a max of $12.50 approx out of pocket. He can buy a certificate that would prepay all his prescriptions for a year, cost is about $150. All pensioners, students, and those on government benefits don't pay for prescriptions either. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the cost is $0 to everyone.

How Walgreens and United Healthscare get away with this....grrr.....


Edited for extra content.

[Evolve Dammit]

48. X a million. US is owned by big pharma and oil and gas lobby.

[Seinan Sensei]

16. Republican death panels

[IowaUnionman]

17. Inhalers

Instead of $500 or $ 600 I buy from online from India for $17.00 .
Pharmaceutical thieves .

[FakeNoose]

18. If only this young man could have gone to the Walgreen's in Canada, he'd still be alive

EVERY FAMILY in America will have horrible, tragic stories just like this, as long as the Repukes stay in power.
Prayers for the victim and his family.

[BurnDoubt]

19. To be clear

Was this decision by a Government Death-Panel, or a Corporate Boardroom Death-Panel? Although, I doubt Cole Schmidtknecht could really tell the difference. Luckily they were able to protect their shareholders' "skin-in-the-game". For-Profit Healthcare is intrinsically NOT patient-centered, and mostly a gift. All part of an economy that prioritizes profits over everything else. If workers we compensated properly, they could afford to live in our society without reliance upon shyster interlopers taking "their share".

[BurnDoubt]

22. "gift" should read "grift"

[questionseverything]

25. Corporate boardroom death panel

[flashman13]

24. You can buy your name brand drugs at Mark's Marine Pharmacy in Vancouver.

They are a real brick and mortar pharmacy. Their email address is canshipmeds.com

You can buy a 3 pack of 50/100 mcg disks for $330. It's brand name SmithKline manufactured in Canada.

This is not an advertsement. I have been using them for over a decade. I have never had a glitch. I have never had a problem with shipping and it is usually quite fast.

They have a very large supply of other drugs at equal savings.

Big Amerikan Pharma is here to rob you. $539 retail for one disk vs 330 for 3. Now that's a serious profit margin.

[flamingdem]

26. Luigi pops into my mind

Infuriating.

[AllaN01Bear]

27. here are your death panels folks

[Irish_Dem]

29. UHC executives love to brag how much money they make.

How much money they make killing people.

[Meowmee]

30. Tragic 🕯😢

Last edited Thu Jan 30, 2025, 07:10 PM - Edit history (3)

He could have got it for less from Canada, but maybe not quickly enough, or even with a goodrx coupon. Even $66 is overpriced for what these inhalers are.

I have been buying one of my cat's fluticasone inhalers which he needs after having toxoplasmosis pneumonia and possible asthma from Canada for so much less. With the good rx here it was about $96 for one. From Canada Drugs Direct, first time it was 3 for $66 with a coupon plus only $6 shipping.

* Also the inhalers ship directly from New Zealand, so I hope if the tariffs start they won't be affected by that. But maybe pharmacies will open up in NZ instead where you can fax an rx.

In addition: there is a generic of the op inhaler mentioned- advair diskus- available for $54.92 with a good rx coupon- Fluticasone/Salmeterol. Most of these way overpriced inhalers and other drugs have generic alternatives. You can also often get copay assistance from the manufacturer if you have insurance. With a good rx or similar coupon, you can buy the meds and BYPASS the corrupt insurance system. I did that for a drug that medicare would not cover for my father. With an rx from your doc you can order from the Canadian and other pharmacies.

[Fla Dem]

32. Totally unacceptable. People should not be dying because the f'ing Health Insurers

won't cover high priced pharmaceuticals and medicine producers jack up prices so the CEO and other executives can be paid millions of dollars a year. They should burn in Hell.

[LAS14]

34. Just unbelievable!!! But I do believe it, unfotunately. nt

[lanlady]

37. Yesterday I had to refuse my COPD med

The price of Brea, an inhaler for COPD/severe asthma, has skyrocketed at CVS from $50 to $400. No rhyme or reason. It's just a plastic disk with a plug of medicine. I could not believe it. This is so messed up. And I can't shop around for a better price because my insurance, Cigna, forces us to fill prescriptions at CVS (cozy little racket, by the way).

I'm fed up, and things will only get much worse once Trump abolishes Obamacare. I feel in my bones there's going to be a mass rebellion against our whole rotten, greed-ridden system of paying for health care. As the poet W.B. Yeats wrote: Things fall apart; the Center cannot hold.

[Ms. Toad]

73. Use GoodRx and get the generic version.

If you have a Walgreens around, it's about $140. (CVS might also be giving you the brand name, instead of the generous - so that might be the reason for the price change - make sure you check.)

Probably not for this one - but for the mid-range drugs, Costco member prices are often a lot cheaper than buying them through insurance (you don't have to have one near you - they have a mail order plan.
You should also check with your insurance company to see what the issue is. It may have been taken off the formulary, or switched to a step therapy drug - so the price may be full price, with no insurance discount. In that case, work with your doctor and the insurance company to prove you've gone through the required other meds to qualify for this one, it you may have to switch meds. Pretty sure it was this med (different brand) that was switched to a step therapy for my spouse, and she's already been through about a zillion other meds before starting it. Once the doctor completed the proper form, she got the need at the insurance price.

[SunSeeker]

38. K & R for exposure

[Evolve Dammit]

41. Insane. I recall when Michael Moore in "Sicko" took 9-11 responders to Cuba for free state of the art health care.

One of them was given a bag of inhalers at 6 cents apiece. She was in tears.
I don't care what you think of Michael Moore. It was an excellent documentary and focused on England, France and other more advanced countries and their health care systems. Which really is "health care." Not the crap we get.

[hunter]

42. I've got severe asthma. This could have been me.

I used to be a frequent flyer in hospital Emergency Rooms.

I've currently got good insurance through my wife's work that covers my inhalers but I've spent maybe half my life, uninsured or under-insured, using inhalers from unconventional sources.

In this nation you often have to fight for basic medical care.

[NoMoreRepugs]

43. This will become so commonplace shortly that most will simply say "that's the way it is" -

You are naive to think or believe that most Americans are caring empathetic individuals - they aren’t. 70million+ voted for a CONVICTED RAPIST FELON WHO LED AN INSURRECTION - I rest my case.

[progressoid]

44. Best healthcare system in the world

[LetMyPeopleVote]

49. I need to check on the price for my inhaler

I am Medicare with a prescription drug plan. I may need to refill my prescription for my inhaler soon

[eggplant]

50. I hope they win.

My wife gets generic Advair at our Walgreens using our UHC plan.

[questionseverything]

61. He had always gotten his before, then they changed a policy and it killed him

[Beck23]

51. I spoke with a lab technician

Who works at the local hospital. She said they were really worried about potential cuts to Medicaid because they have a lot of Medicaid patients.

[samplegirl]

52. How awful

I can't even imagine!

[LillyPopp]

54. Needed tp Google that med

Coulda gotten it for even cheaper than he was paying with insurance before. Always shop around on generics, you can often pay less than most insurance copays.

Shoulda shopped around. I don't understand how people don't get it now.

https://www.goodrx.com/advair

[hunter]

62. Good job, blame the victim.

If only his pharmacist had told him that.

[carpetbagger]

63. Yes. In 2025.

There was a shortage of advair and similar medications in late 2023, with unavailability of the generic. The goodrx entry is from June 2024.

Should have shopped around for a time machine.

Welcome to DU.

[Aussie105]

56. "Culling of the herd" by any other name . . .

People on long term or life long medication may want to complain to their local politicians and newspapers if this is a general trend.

Looking for alternatives for any medication that is expensive is always an option -

eg "Wixela Inhub is the first approved generic version of Advair Diskus. It is therapeutically equivalent to Advair Diskus."

As is ordering from another country.
Or if you have relatives overseas who have a sympathetic doctor to write scripts.

[Clouds Passing]

57. UHC and Wgs are murderers

[Clouds Passing]

58. Cole

I’m so sorry

[electric_blue68]

60. 🕯 My Mom suddenly suffered from Severe Asthma before I turned 6 yrs old! Took years to get it under much better control

It was awful! So, I hear you, and your fears. So hideous!

She went from this active, vibrant person to hunched down over her side of the bed, wheezing, coughing, and gasping for breath. Eventually she did improve in stages, becoming much more active again. Unlike today - her nebulizer was size of a medium suitcase. We'd load I the car when we visited her relatives further away.

But, wow, those first few years! I think I shoved my upset, and probably terror waaaay down. I'm sure it effected me.

May you all breath easier, both literally, and figuratively!

[DENVERPOPS]

64. Doesn't surprise me a bit

that Walgreens is involved.

I heard Walgreens just went to ownership by a hedge fund, which is the kiss of death for all their customers and the company itself.
(as Hedge Funds take over industry after industry, they destroy them, and cry all the way to the bank...)

Walgreens has illegally been selling customers prescription information, along with all their personal information to anyone who had the money. They kept doing it over and over again, with Walgreens fined over and over again. The fine never came near the amount of money they made from the sale of all the information..... The CEO was never charged, and earned huge bonuses over and over again. He laughed at the fines, saying that the fine was paid for by Walgreens, not by him, and on top of everything, the fine was a Tax Deduction for the Walgreens corporation...

[Stargazer99]

76. Business is the biggest WELFARE QUEENS in this nation and you who whine about a welfare mother

You are well trained by capitalism to dump on the more powerless to grieve your complaints. When business gets something tax deductible who do you think pays for it? You the well trained taxpayer

[krkaufman]

65. UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group aims to get back to business after CEO murder

… back to business-as-usual, in fact.

[Rhiannon12866]

69. After Biden brought down the price of insulin, I was hoping that inhalers would be next

What happened to this asthmatic was unconscionable, too many life-saving prescription prices are way too high. My ENT prescribed a new inhaler for me that cost close to $700! Fortunately for me, the woman at my pharmacy looked online and found a coupon that allowed me to get it for free!

[Ms. Toad]

74. Congress brought v down the price of insulin.

That is why Trump's executive order didn't rescind the cap.

[mnhtnbb]

70. I have been using the generic

Wixela discus for years to treat my asthma, after it replaced Advair. My last refill for 3 units cost me $5. on Medicare with a BCBS Federal drug plan paid for out of my CSA survivor's benefit at Walgreens. The info on the Rx receipt indicated retail price $629.09. Between May and July last year, the price of one Wixela discus went from $253.09 to $629.09, but the price I paid remained at $5.

[lonely bird]

71. Medicare Part D

My plan has $2,000 deductible. So, every year my meds are expensive for the first couple months.

4 injections of Mounjaro are $678.
Eliquis and Jardiance are always a couple hundred for 3 months supply.

A buddy of mine sends the scripts for his wife’s Ozempic to Canada.

There is no country that wants the healthcare payment and access system that we have here. Republicans love to point out that politicians from other countries come here for procedures. The problem is access and payment. The entire purpose of insurance companies is not to cover people. Its purpose is to make money.

[Ms. Toad]

75. The Medicare deductible this year is $590, not $2000.

Part D plans have to have a $590 or lower deductible. Out of pocket caps are $2000.

[lonely bird]

83. First 4 shots of Mounjaro purchased in January was $678

Got the receipts.

I will be talking to WellCare.

[Ms. Toad]

86. You might want to check of it is on your formulary.

No Medicare drug plan may have a deductible more than $590 in 2025, and some plans have no deductible.

https://www.medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/part-d/basics/costs

One possibility is that you paid your $590 (or lower) deductible, but the $590 did not cover the entire cost of the meds. In that case you would still owe for the copay on the cost above $590 (or your lower deductible). Last year, my spouse's first prescription cost more than the deductible since the cost was $1500. She owed the deductible (around $500 last year, so she owed the copay on the remaining $1000).

But you should double check to make sure it is on your formulary, because if it isn't you could easily pay more than the $2000 out of pocket cap for the year, since non-formulary purchases don't count toward the cap.

You may be on the same plan I'm on (and my spouse was on last year).

[lonely bird]

87. Thanks for the info

👍

[dalton99a]

82. Foreign patients are rich and pay cash.

Typically oligarchs and corrupt government officials from the third word

[PennRalphie]

79. So sad. Democratic strategists

Should have had Cole’s family on stage instead of Beyoncé and Katy Perry. It would have made a difference I think.