Many different public policies are designed to impact the people of America in various ways. Most of these policies are implemented to promote a better quality of life in some way or another. However, this is not always the final result when several stakeholders have competing interest such as the case with the United States Food and Drug Administration knew as the FDA. The FDA is a department within the federal government that is responsible for ensuring the food and drugs that are consumed by the American people do more good than harm (FDA.gov, 2016).
A prescription drug policy issue that involves the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Health and Human Services as well as local hospitals and pharmacies. Also, there may be other competing interests such as the local clinics, private practices, and the end user of the drug, which share the belief that certain drugs should or should not require a prescription or they disagree with the cost of the drug. The reaction between the stakeholders may be agreeable or contradictory, but their collective …show more content…
Many of the senior citizens in the country cannot afford the medication needed to treat their conditions because of high-cost prescription drugs and limited coverage on medications (Affordable Health Care Act, 2010). While the Affordable Care Act may have relieved some of the prescription drug cost, there remains a struggle to pay for much-needed medications. The out-of-pocket cost for prescription drugs can sometimes be supplemented depending on the level of health insurance coverage, although this has no bearing on the over-the-counter drugs they are needed as well such as aspirin, multivitamins, or allergy medications (Calfee, 2002, p.