Independent Voices — Patient AdvocatesPatient AdvocateA person who uses lived experience navigating the healthcare system to advocate for structural change.
Patient Protector Network
Bil & Shanon Schmidtknecht · Wisconsin · patientprotector.us · @angrydadwi
"Angry Dad" and "Angry Mom" — the names they give themselves on camera.
Parents of Cole Schmidtknecht (2001–2024) · Producers of the Modern Medical Mafia docuseries · Organizers of the March to 1 Million Voices
Their Urgent Action
Join the March to 1 Million Voices
A national campaign demanding real PBM reform. One click sends a message to your lawmakers — it takes less than 60 seconds.
"Families like mine have lived through the devastating consequences of a broken system. Now, we're uniting to make sure no one else has to."
Section I · The Origin
Their Son Chose Rent. They Chose to Fight.
In January 2024, Cole Schmidtknecht stood at a Walgreens counter in Appleton, Wisconsin, and learned his asthma inhaler had gone from $66 to $539. He was 22. He paid his rent instead. He died on January 21, 2024. Cole's full case is in the Reason Room →
His parents, Bil and Shanon, turned that loss into the Patient Protector Network. They went to Washington. They are suing Optum Rx and Walgreens in federal court. They are pushing Wisconsin to pass Cole's Act. And they built a platform for every family the system has done the same thing to.
"Our mission is to EDUCATE, ENGAGE, and ENRAGE the public about PBM abuse… To establish a platform where individuals who have been impacted by this issue can safely share their stories. To gather data that will help convince legislators and other key stakeholders that PBM reform needs to be a priority NOW."
— Patient Protector, mission statement
On the House Floor · December 4, 2024
"Since Cole's passing, Bil and Shanon, who are here today, have fought tirelessly for PBM reform. I am grateful for their presence today and that they have chosen to tell their story so no other parents experience this pain."
— Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Congressional Record H6300–H6301, introducing the Pharmacists Fight Back Act in Cole's honor
Section II · PPN News
A Newsroom Built by One Family
"We deliver the facts on healthcare issues in America so patients come before profits." PPN News puts out short segments through the week on PBM abuse, insurance denials and the companies behind them. Each one names its sources.
About the format: the PPN anchor is AI-generated. Bil is open about this: the presenter is synthetic, and the scripts are built from factual reporting. He uses the newscast format because people stop and listen to it.
Selected Segments
Prior Authorization · Oct 2026
Eric Tennant · West Virginia
Approval for Eric's liver cancer treatment came only after the media got involved — and he died before he could get it. The segment cites AbilityForge's Eric Tennant case page and links the original KFF Health News investigation.
Rebates · Generics
Why Switch Patients Off Generics?
Generics cost far less than brand-name drugs. So why do PBMs sometimes push the brand? PPN's answer, in one word: rebates.
Vertical Integration · Oct 2026
CVS: $315 Million — Who Is Accountable?
CVS agreed to pay $315 million to settle a Justice Department case over opioid prescriptions, without admitting liability. PPN asks the bigger question: what happens when one company owns every link in the chain?
Federal Legislation
Warren & Hawley Agree
"They agree on almost nothing." A progressive and a conservative senator teamed up to break up the vertically integrated healthcare giants.
Pharmacists
Filling Prescriptions at a Loss
Medicare Part D "DIR" clawbacks take money back from pharmacies after the sale. Some states have started forcing PBMs to pay it back.
State Action
Florida's Attorney General Asks Too
"Transparency isn't anti-business. It's pro-patient." Patients and independent pharmacies have asked the same questions for years — now a state attorney general is asking them.
The Bill Behind the Warren–Hawley Segment
The Break Up Big Medicine Act (S.3822), from Sens. Warren and Hawley, would make it unlawful for one company to own both a healthcare provider and an insurer, PBM or drug wholesaler — with a one-year deadline to divest. It goes after the same vertical integration that PPN's segments keep coming back to.
Read the S.3822 analysis →Section III · Wisconsin
"Your Answer Will Earn Our Vote"
Ahead of Wisconsin's 2026 governor's race, PPN asked every candidate in public — tagging Tom Tiffany, Sara Rodriguez, Kelda Roys, Mandela Barnes, Francesca Hong and David Crowley — one question: will you support meaningful PBM reform and put patients before PBM profits?
The same campaign carries the push for Cole's Act, the Wisconsin PBM reform bill named for their son. It cleared committee unanimously in 2025 but did not become law. The family is pushing for 2027.
Cole's Act and the federal bills, on Cole's page →"This isn't about politics. It's about people… No one should die because a PBM put a price tag on their life."
— @angrydadwi, "PBM Reform: Patients Before Profits"
Section IV · Film & Music
Every Format That Reaches People
Docuseries
Modern Medical Mafia
Produced by Patient Protector. Episode 1, "The America That the Mafia Created," explains what PBMs are and how they grew, and tells Cole's story. The National Community Pharmacists Association promoted it to its members.
modernmedicalmafia.com →Music · DJ Stew
"The PBM Blues" · "The Rebate Racket"
Patient Protector exclusive singles, on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music. "The Rebate Racket" builds on Mark Cuban's warnings about PBM rebates.
"They say they're just middle men, trying to cut the cost. But behind the scenes, it's the patient getting lost."
Song · Prior Authorization · May 2025
"Waiting to Live"
"Written in honor of my son, Cole, and the countless others who were forced to wait… for care, for coverage, for help that came too late." Verse by verse it moves across the country — a chemo patient in Houston, a failing knee in Phoenix, an EpiPen in Des Moines, a veteran in Miami — each one stuck waiting on prior authorization.
"They call it utilization. We call it slow decay."
Song · In Cole's Memory · March 18, 2026
"What Cole Would Want You to Know"
Released on what would have been Cole's 25th birthday. Not a protest song — a list of the simple truths Cole lived by.
"Be kind. Say thank you. Let your good light glow.
That's what Cole would want you to know."
Section V · National Coverage
Cole's Story, Coast to Coast
NBC Nightly News · June 2025
"The Cost of Denial" — 22-year-old dies after being unable to afford his inhaler.
NewsNation Live · June 2025
Family attorney Michael Trunk on the lawsuit — and the other families who have reached out since.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver · September 2026
"Our current health system still forces people to walk away from medicine that will literally keep them alive because they can't f***ing afford it."
In a segment on UnitedHealth Group, Oliver closed with OptumRx and Cole's case. Bil's response:
"I don't hear a talking point. I hear my son's story… Behind every denied prescription, every formulary change, every prior authorization and every unaffordable copay is a real person. Sometimes, that person is someone's son. His name was Cole."
— Bil Schmidtknecht, @angrydadwi
Watch the clip →Section VI · On patientprotector.us
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