Rep. Jake Auchincloss honors the life and memory of Cole William Schmidtknecht

In January, Cole William Schmidtknecht went to the pharmacy to refill his asthma medication, which he had taken for years. 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. This week, Cole's father joined me in Washington to honor his memory and to call on Congress to pass my Pharmacists Fight Back Act, which aims to end the price-gouging practices of PBMs and prevent tragedies like Cole’s from happening again.