1.  a) What regulation is the FDA considering changing regarding prescription drugs? Be specific.
b)  How would this decision help patients, according to the FDA?

2.  Medicare is a national social insurance program, administered by the U.S. federal government, that guarantees access to health insurance for Americans ages 65 and older and younger people with disabilities as well as people with end stage renal (kidney) disease.
a)  How would the FDA's decision affect Medicare?
b)  How would the FDA's decision affect seniors and individuals with disabilities?

3.  How might the changes affect non-medicare patients?

4.  Why are doctors opposed to the possible change implemented by the FDA? Be specific.

5.  How are pharmacists reacting to the possible change in prescriptions?

6.  Dr. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, who testified last month on behalf of the American Medical Association in an FDA-held public hearing said: "The FDA has not offered any evidence establishing that it is safe, or patient outcomes are improved, when patients with hypertension, [high cholesterol], asthma or migraine headaches self-diagnose and manage these (or other) serious chronic medical conditions on their own."
Do you think the doctor makes a legitimate point?  Explain your answer.

7.  As a federal agency, the FDA is part of the Obama administration.  Opponents of the President's Health Care law might accuse the FDA of attempting to reduce the cost of Medicare at the expense of seniors and those with disabilities.
What do you think?  Will the changes being considered by the FDA be helpful or harmful to patients?  Explain your answer.