President Joe Biden moved to make it easier for Americans to buy health insurance during the pandemic, reopening the federal Obamacare marketplace with an order Thursday that’s a step toward reinvigorating a program his predecessor tried to eliminate.
Biden issued another order Thursday to immediately rescind the so-called Mexico City Policy, which prohibits international non-profits from receiving U.S. funding if they provide abortion counseling or referrals.
The president said the orders aimed “to undo the damage” from Donald Trump’s administration.
“There’s nothing new we’re doing here other than restoring the Affordable Care Act and restoring the Medicaid to the way it was before Trump became president, which by fiat he made more inaccessible, more expensive and more difficult for people to qualify for either of those two items,” Biden said.
The Obamacare executive order creates a special enrollment period for plans sold in the federal Healthcare.gov market from Feb. 15 to May 15, offering a path to health care for people who’ve found themselves without insurance coverage after losing their jobs.
The order also directs agencies to look for ways to strengthen Medicaid, the federal health program for low-income people, and the Affordable Care Act more broadly.
“I’m not initiating any new law, any new aspect of the law,” Biden said.
The long-expected executive orders build on more than two dozen Biden already has signed during his first week in office.
“As we continue to battle Covid-19, it is even more critical that Americans have meaningful access to affordable care,” the White House said in a statement. “Reliable and affordable access to health insurance doesn’t just benefit families’ health; it is a critical source of economic security and peace of mind for all.”
Democrats, the health insurance industry and advocates for the Affordable Care Act had repeatedly asked the Trump administration over the past several months to reopen HealthCare.gov enrollment, which is typically restricted to a few weeks in the fall. They were refused.
The Trump administration argued that people who lost their coverage in the pandemic could sign up for Obamacare plans using individual special enrollment periods. Requests for special enrollment have spiked, but the process is more complicated than open enrollment because it requires applicants to prove their eligibility. It’s also not available to people who’ve been uninsured for an extended period of time.
The new enrollment period Biden is creating will be available to “Americans that need health care coverage,” according to the statement, which did not say whether there would be restrictions.
America’s Health Insurance Plans, the trade group for health insurers, welcomed the announcement. The executive order will “create more pathways for Americans to obtain coverage that is so essential to their health, well-being and peace of mind,” AHIP Chief Executive Officer Matt Eyles said in a news release.
Funding Cut
Enrollment in plans sold by marketplaces set up under the Affordable Care Act declined slightly under President Donald Trump, who cut funding for the program’s marketing and outreach after promising to repeal the law.
“President Biden has an opportunity to show that Healthcare.gov can work in concert with the 15 state-based marketplaces to offer a critical safety net for those left uninsured by the pandemic,” said Joel Ario of Manatt Health, who was the first director of Healthcare.gov.