Trump’s efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed in Congress, and the insurance marketplaces it created continued to enroll millions of people during his presidency. He occasionally claimed credit for lowering premiums for plans sold on the exchanges.
About 8.3 million people enrolled last fall using Healthcare.gov portal, about the same number as the year before even though two states—Pennsylvania and New Jersey—exited the federal marketplace to run their own, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
For states using Healthcare.gov, the official window to enroll in coverage for 2021 closed on Dec. 15. Opening a new enrollment period, combined with more robust efforts to reach the uninsured, could bolster enrollment significantly: 4 million people who are currently uninsured qualify for a fully subsidized low-level plan with zero premiums, according to a new analysis from KFF.
Another 4.9 million are eligible for partial subsidies, the group estimates.
New Customers
Health insurers are looking forward to a possible lift for the marketplaces, after they sometimes struggled to attract new customers.
“The new administration certainly looks like they’re going to promote” the ACA business, said Pete Haytaian, who leads the commercial and specialty business at health insurer Anthem.
“We just heard this week that we’ll likely see an extension to open enrollment or special enrollment periods throughout the year,” Haytaian told Wall Street analysts on an earnings call Wednesday. “With the new administration, I think there is an opportunity for further growth there.”
Most of the 15 Obamacare marketplaces operated by states extended their open enrollment periods as a result of the pandemic. Those states saw a surge of new applicants—particularly among people in their 20s—suggesting that Americans who once chose to go without coverage are reconsidering, given the risk of coronavirus infection.
The Mexico City Policy that Biden rescinded Thursday flip-flops depending on which party holds the White House. It was reimposed by Trump when he took office, after President Barack Obama had rescinded it.
A Biden memo ending the policy directs the Department of Health and Human Services to consider rescinding unspecified regulations governing grants to family-planning organizations, according to the White House statement. The Trump administration enacted regulations that prohibit family-planning groups receiving the grants from referring women for abortions or physically sharing space with abortion providers.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.