Cole Schmidtknecht's tragic death from asthma has led his parents to sue Walgreens OptumRX after the pharmacy benefit manager increased inhaler prices drastically. They allege that Optum's policies, driven by profit motives, forced patients to switch medications, prioritizing financial gain over health needs. The Schmidtknechts argue their son, who relied on the Advair Diskus inhaler, felt compelled to forgo his life-saving medication due to an 800% price hike. This case raises critical questions about the role of pharmacy benefit managers in shaping drug accessibility and the real-world consequences of their policies.
This practice of requiring patients to change their medications so that the PBM can collect kickbacks from the drug manufacturer is called 'non-medical switching,' because the choice of medication is dictated by the PBM's financial interests, not the best medical interests of patients.
He walked out. Chose rent over his medicine.
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