We have to accelerate pharmacy benefit manager reform right now. Here’s why

Published May 26, 2026 10:00am ET



When 22-year-old Cole Schmidtknecht walked up to the pharmacy counter, he learned his Advair Diskus inhaler had jumped from under $70 to over $500. He walked away without the medicine.

Within a week, he suffered a severe asthma attack and went into cardiac arrest. He died on Jan. 21, 2024.

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