US President Joe Biden concentrated his focus on healthcare in a series of executive orders. On Thursday, he signed 2 more orders aimed to expand the Affordable Care Act and address reproductive health amid the coronavirus pandemic. Biden informed reporters while signing the orders that this move would undo the damage done by former President Donald Trump. The president’s executive actions order the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to open a special enrolment period from 15th February to 15th May 2021. It would give Americans an opportunity to enroll those who lost their employer’s health insurance during the pandemic. Biden administration issued a press release and said, “These actions demonstrate a strong commitment by the Biden-Harris administration to protect and build on the Affordable Care Act, meet the healthcare needs created by the pandemic”.
The statement added, “It will reduce healthcare costs, protect access to reproductive healthcare, and make our healthcare system easier to navigate and more equitable”. Point to be noted that former president Donald Trump ignored calls to extend the enrolment period for the ACA as more Americans lost their jobs in 2020. His administration instead worked to repeal and replace the ACA (a health reform program first created by Barack Obama when his administration was in office). The program is commonly known as “Obamacare”. The Trump administration and Republicans never gained enough support to repeal the program. It serves about 23 million Americans across the country. Biden ran on the promise to expand and improve the ACA if he were elected president.
The press release also said, “For President Biden, this is personal. As we continue to battle Covid-19, it is even more critical that Americans have meaningful access to affordable care”. The Kaiser Family Foundation says the executive orders mean nearly 9 million Americans could now access health insurance. It comes at a time when more than 107,000 people are in hospital with Covid-19. It is noteworthy that the novel virus has killed more than 429,000 Americans since the start of the pandemic. The executive action will direct federal agencies to reexamine policies that undermine the ACA, besides opening up the enrolment period. On Thursday, Biden also addressed the issue of reproductive health by using his 2nd executive order to rescind the Mexico City Policy, also known as the “Global Gag Rule”.
