A 22-year-old man died from an asthma attack after he chose to pay for rent over a life-saving inhaler when the cost of the medicine soared more than 10 times in price. Cole Schmidtknecht, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, chose to pay rent over the $500 (£398) "life-sustaining medicine" and died as a result, his family argued in a lawsuit filed in federal court. He lived with chronic asthma since he was an infant and managed his symptoms with a daily dose of a corticosteroid inhaler for more than a decade.

The truck centre employee earned a "modest hourly wage" and was on a self-insured healthcare plan through his employer that was set up with the United Health Group (UHG), according to the lawsuit. As part of the insurance plan, Cole paid between $35 (£28) to $69 (£55) during the "deductible phase of the plan.". But without the insurance plan, the medication would skyrocket to more than $530 (£423), according to the lawsuit. OptumRx, a United Health Group subsidiary, changed the drugs it would cover in 2024 with the medication he used being excluded.

The pharmacy care business has since been accused of not sharing its formulary of drugs covered under the plan, which is an alleged violation is Wisconsin law that orders businesses to tell patients at least 30 days before coverage runs out. Cole's family accuse three pharmacy benefit managers, including UHG, of having artificially driven up healthcare costs. Cole went to a local Walgreens connected with OptumRX on January 10 last year and was told the medication was not covered by his insurance. He then left the pharmacy without paying for the medication. He then started to develop symptoms over the five days after leaving without the inhaler.

Cole suffered a severe asthma attack and became asphyxiated on January 15. His roommate rushed him to a local hospital but he became unresponsive during the journey. He remained in a coma and on a ventilator for six days before his parents were told their son was "beyond help," the New York Post reports. His parents took Cole off life support and he was pronounced dead on January 21. The family claim in the lawsuit that Cole suffered damages of life, future earnings, physical and mental pain and suffering and humiliation. They added they are seeking lost society and companionship over their son's death and have had their Cole's death raised the US Congress.

In a December 6 Facebook post Democrat Massachusetts Representative Jake Auchincloss said: "At the pharmacy, Cole found out that the Pharmacy Benefit Manager had increased the price of Cole’s steroid prescription from around $35 dollars to over $500 dollars. "He was told that no generic drug would be covered by his insurance, and Cole was forced to choose between paying for his medication, or for his rent. He chose to pay his rent. Five days later, Cole suffered a severe asthma attack that led to cardiac arrest and his untimely death.".

Rep Auchincloss raised the case in Congress in December last year and invited Cole's father to Washington DC in a bid to help pass his legislation aimed at ending price gouging in the American health industry. Health insurance is a major concern for many Americans with an estimated 550,000 people filing for bankruptcy each year citing medical bills as a primary cause. The Mirror has contacted OptumRX for comment.