OptumRX Blasted Over Asthma Inhaler Cut

Cole Schmidtknecht's death at age 22 after an asthma attack has sparked outrage and a lawsuit against OptumRX, a pharmacy benefit manager owned by UnitedHealth Group.

Six days before his death, Cole visited the Walgreens in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he was told his inhaler prescription would no longer be covered due to a change in coverage by OptumRX. The medication cost $539.19 out of pocket, which Cole could not afford.

'That is an absolute tragedy and it was completely preventable,' said John Oliver on his HBO show 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.'

Olivier criticized OptumRX's decision to switch from covering the inhaler to a competitor drug due to rebates, rather than medical reasons.