El-Sayed hosts Parthasarathy on ‘America Dissected’ Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy

However, public policy is essential for shaping the direction of society and addressing its most pressing problems. Some of the top public policy issues facing Americans today include healthcare, immigration, climate change and the environment, abortion, and the economy. It’s important to have a holistic understanding of the history, recent developments, and the present day impact of these policies to become a meaningful advocate for change. Public policy is a broad term that refers to the decisions taken by a government in order to address specific public issues, such as taxation, healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Public policy is typically created through a process of political decision-making involving legislators, government officials, and policy analysts.

When you face the different types of problems you should also expect your policy influence strategy to look differently. A policy cannot be implemented right away in all cases, but that does not mean there are no other ways of influencing. There are several pharma-specific areas that could be impacted by the MAHA movement, including vaccine policy, the FDA’s drug regulatory process and a potential ban on pharmaceutical ads on TV. Here are some of the biggest health policy issues to look out for this year, according to Beltway experts.

Part of the debate will be whether a price cap should be paired with broader changes to drug pricing, such as pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices. Members of both parties support legislation allowing the burgeoning legal cannabis industry to access banks, especially as additional states have legalized recreational marijuana use. Senate leaders plan to schedule a vote on a bill to eliminate penalties for financial institutions that work with state-approved cannabis businesses, however it remains to be seen whether Republican leaders in the House would support the measure.

Public policy refers to the set of laws, regulations, and actions established by government officials to guide public life. These policies are typically created by policymakers at both the state and federal levels, including those in Capitol Hill, with the goal of achieving specific social, economic, or environmental goals. The pharma industry has already been lobbying Trump’s transition team to take a softer stance on the program, including delaying the timeline in which drugs become eligible for negotiations, according to Reuters.

Over 20% reported that they were underinsured, meaning that even though they had health insurance for a full year, it was not affordable. The Inflation Reduction Act focuses on reducing energy costs for households, lowering prescription drug prices, and supporting clean energy development. One area of drug pricing that will likely still see tangible movement is the continued implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and its provision that allows Medicare to negotiate the prices of certain Part D drugs.

But pharma marketers will also have to prepare to meet the MAHA movement with science-backed communications and to potentially battle misinformation, she added. Trump added that his administration would seek to protect Americans from “harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharma products and food additives” that have contributed to chronic diseases in the U.S. It’s important to note that these examples represent a small fraction of the numerous public policies that exist, and policies can vary significantly across different countries and regions. Tax law lobbyists BryensBlog.com and their clients are already working both behind the scenes and publicly to set the stage for 2025.

Common Policy Challenges

In conclusion, public policy issues are complex challenges that societies face and require careful consideration and action. They encompass a wide range of areas, from healthcare and education to environmental protection and economic regulation. These issues often involve competing interests and values, making the policymaking process challenging and demanding.

Global Kids Online: designing an impact toolkit for a multi-country project

“The Inflation Reduction Act, for the first time, granted Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices,” she said. One powerful way to raise awareness about a policy issue that’s important to you, get the attention of legislators, and even change public policy is by creating a petition. Even in the recent elections, Harris advocated for expanding Medicaid coverage for low-income communities across the country. While Trump is currently no longer calling to repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act, research shows that the incoming president is likely to deprioritize health care coverage as he did in his previous term. It is not feasible to tackle the different types of problems in the same way and the policy influence you are likely to observe might look very differently in each case. For example, tackling a well-structured problem such as deploying a vaccination program is quite different from reaching an international agreement on climate change, an unstructured problem.

Affordable Care Act expansion

The Trump administration’s industry-friendly approach is already partially playing out, with the president-elect recently meeting with the CEOs of Eli Lilly, Pfizer and industry lobbying group PhRMA at Mar-a-Lago. Since their meeting, Trump has spoken about targeting pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) rather than calling out Big Pharma directly. The U.S. is one of only two countries in the world that allow pharma companies to advertise branded drugs directly to consumers.

Congress is continuing to work on a reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) along with the ticket and cargo taxes that help finance its operations. The House passed a five-year reauthorization by a wide margin in 2023, while the Senate version was delayed for months in the Senate Commerce Committee over disagreements on several issues, including pilot training and retirement age. Major deadlines will drive action throughout the year, while congressional leaders will also be working on their legislative priorities. Congress will be dealing with a mix of deadline-driven work and items selected by each chamber’s leadership. Legislation like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has allocated billions to modernize transportation, energy grids, and broadband access, creating jobs and stimulating economic activity. Manufacturing incentives such as the CHIPS Act to encourage domestic semiconductor production complement these policies.