(The Center Square) – A pair of Wisconsin legislators have introduced a bill to combat what they call “predatory practices” from pharmacy benefit managers that they say led to the death of 22-year-old Cole Schmidtknecht.
The bill, called Cole’s Act, would lower drug costs, increase transparency and increase pharmacy access and safety, according to the sponsors Senate President Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, and Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville.
Schmidtknecht was allegedly led to choose between paying his rent or buying an inhaler after his prescription cost rose from $66 to $539.19.
Schmidtknecht chose not to buy the inhaler for his asthma at that cost and died from an asthma attack.
“Predatory PBM practices, including failure to notify Cole of this price change, are the primary factors in Cole’s death,” the lawmakers said.
The Schmidtknecht family of Poynette sued both Walgreens and United Healthcare’s OptimumRX over their son’s death.
The lawsuit says that the three largest pharmacy benefit managers in the control control 79% of the drug prescriptions in the country and “artificially drive up healthcare costs for Americans in a myriad of ways, such as forcing patients to fill prescriptions for more expensive drugs even when cheaper alternatives exist for the same conditions.”
The pharmacy benefit managers discriminate against local pharmacies, take tax dollars meant to expand healthcare for the neediest and make unexpected changes to patients’ drug coverage, according to the lawmakers.
“Cole’s death was an unnecessary tragedy,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “The hidden truth of healthcare right now is that PBMs control what drugs are available to patients, not doctors. We cannot allow these practices to continue.”
They say that they are pleased the Trump Administration is also looking to take on pharmacy benefit managers, but they need to act swiftly to protect consumers in Wisconsin.
