Biden signs executive action to reopen Obamacare enrollment amid COVID-19, end gag rule

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Thursday took initial steps to expand health care coverage and reverse some of the policies of former President Donald Trump, including directing that people be given a new chance to sign up for government-subsidized care and lifting restrictions on abortion and family planning services.

Biden signed an executive order for the Department of Health and Human Services to reopen insurance enrollment on HealthCare.gov from Feb. 15 through May 15, giving a new coverage opportunity to Americans who lost their jobs and employer-based insurance during the pandemic. The annual open enrollment for the plans ended in December in most states.

Nearly 9 million uninsured Americans could get free or subsidized health insurance through the special enrollment period, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health research organization.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki declined to estimate how many people might take advantage of the opportunity.

Trump resisted calls for a special enrollment period for people who became uninsured during the pandemic and repeatedly sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration's signature health care reform law. The ACA, or Obamacare, provides health insurance to more than 23 million people.

Biden said his actions are designed to “undo the damage Trump has done.”

“There’s nothing new that we’re doing here other than restoring the Affordable Care Act and restoring the Medicaid to the way it was before Trump became president,” Biden said. “As we continue to battle COVID-19, it’s even more critical Americans have meaningful access to health care.”

He also directed federal agencies to reexamine policies that undermine the Affordable Care Act, make it difficult for Americans to enroll in Medicaid or ones that reduce affordability of coverage or protections for those with pre-existing conditions.

Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association, applauded the moves, saying they will "restore coverage to patients who are victims of the economic fallout of the pandemic."

Through an outreach campaign expected to include advertising and partnerships with local organizations, the administration hopes to enroll people who may not be aware they're eligible for coverage.

Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, tweeted that Biden's actions "signal a dramatically different direction from the last four years."

"But," Levitt added, "there are a lot of details to be worked out and decisions to be made, which will in some cases take months if not years."

Ending the 'global gag rule'

As the initial steps in Biden’s pledge to stop the “relentless and extreme attack” on reproductive health, the president issued a memorandum to revoke the Mexico City Policy, which blocks foreign assistance to groups that include abortion services or information in their family planning programs.

Trump both restored and expanded that policy, which was started by the Reagan administration and has been turned off and on again depending on whether a Democrat or Republican holds the White House. Critics call it the “global gag rule.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized the move, saying it will “run over the consciences of American taxpayers and put them back on the hook for funding abortions overseas.”

Biden began the process of undoing similar restrictions on domestic groups that receive federal family planning funds to serve the uninsured and low-income populations.

The number of clients served by the program dropped by about 840,000 – or 21% – after the Trump administration changed the rules for receiving Title X grants, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Biden directed the Department of Health and Human Services to review those changes. The agency would need to write new regulations to undo the Trump rules.

Advocates for reproductive rights are pushing the new administration to go beyond simply reversing Trump administration actions affecting abortion services and put in place new protections and expanded services.

“It’s a great start," Alexis McGill Johnson, head of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said of Biden's actions. "But, I’ll emphasize again, this is a start. We need to both undo the damage of the next four years and move policy and our collective imagination forward.”

Tackling reproductive rights: Some of Biden's goals are easier than others

Health care was a key issue for voters in the 2020 presidential election and helped Democrats win back a majority in the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterms.

During the campaign, Biden didn't go as far as some progressives wanted in promising changes to the Affordable Care Act. But he backed expanding insurance subsidies, lowering the eligibility age for Medicare, and adding a government-run option that would compete against the private plans offered in the marketplace.

Those changes would require passing legislation through a closely-divided Congress.

The fate of the entire law, however, remains in the hands of the Supreme Court. In the latest legal challenge to Obamacare brought by Republicans, the court will decide whether Congress' elimination in 2017 of the penalty imposed on consumers who refuse to buy health insurance invalidates the law.

Another Obamacare challenge: Supreme Court appears unlikely to topple Affordable Care Act

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden orders reopening of Obamacare enrollment amid COVID-19