A pair of Wisconsin is suing Optum RX and Walgreens for the death of the son’s asthma – Fox 9 Minneapolis -st. Paul

(Fox 9) – A pair of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit against the Optum RX and Walgreens -based death for death related to their son’s asthma a year ago.

A case brought in the death of asthma

The story:

Shanon and William Schmidknecht of Nonot, Wiscons, lost their 22-year-old son Cole in January 2024. He stopped at Walgreens on Appleton and was told that the price of his inhaler jumped from $ 66 to $ 539 from his pocket. He left the pharmacy without medication and tried to manage his condition with a rescue inhaler.

He suffered a fatal asthmatic attack days later. Cole has suffered asthma throughout his life and has managed it with daily doses of the Advair Diskus drug inhaler and generic equivalents.

The trial:

Optum RX is a pharmacy manager who manages the Cole’s prescription plan plan through his employer.

The family claims that Optum RX has violated Wisconsin’s law by raising the cost of medicines without a valid medical reason and failing to notify Cole so that he can talk to his doctor about alternatives.

The lawsuit also claims that Walgreens has failed to offer Cole Costoround, generic or urgent supply so that he can contact a doctor and insurance company.

Optum RX is a pharmacy manager who negotiates drug prices for insurance plans. The industry is under control by the Federal Commerce Committee, as only three companies control prices for 80 percent of the prices of medical prescription drugs in the United States.

These three companies are also in ownership chains with insurance companies and pharmacies, such as an order by mail. Recently, FTC said it found that PBMS was artificially inflating common drug prices for its own profits.

Trial

What they say:

Optum RX provided this statement to FOX 47 in Madison when the station covered Cole’s death in April 2024:

“The Optum RX also has available clinically suitable options and formulation information when the drug is not covered by a formula, including alternatives to Advair Diskus forms with Copays members up to $ 5.

“Our goal is to ensure that medicines, including those used to treat asthma and other critical conditions, are accessible and accessible to Americans. After a strict examination of this case, we have determined that the efforts to manage the forms and communications that have influenced this patient’s access to key asthma options are processed in accordance with the practice of the industry and the design of the patient’s insurance plan.

Reporting Pharmacy Managers

Dig for a deeper:

You can see more of FOX 9 investigations into drug pricing by clicking below.

The story:

You can read the full FTC staff report here.