Open enrollment on federal exchanges, which the Trump administration cut in half to six weeks, ended on December 15. But Biden has the power to reopen enrollment, which will allow uninsured people to select policies during a special enrollment period.
Biden resorted to executive actions in his early days in office to begin to quickly put his agenda into practice and eliminate that of his predecessor.
This Thursday’s focus will be on health care. Biden must also sign measures to strengthen Medicaid, as well as rescind Mexico City’s policy on abortion and review Title X abortion referral restrictions.
Increasing the Affordable Care Act
The increase in the number of American policyholders through the strengthening of the Affordable Care Act was at the heart of Biden’s health campaign promises. However, its two main measures – creating a government-managed public option and increasing Obamacare’s federal award subsidies – will require Congress and face much opposition.
Reopening registrations is much easier, although it is unclear how much impact this will have.
In addition, more people seemed to maintain job-based coverage than expected, while those who lost their jobs and most of their income turned to Medicaid. Between February and August, Medicaid enrollments increased by more than 5.8 million people, or 9.1%, according to federal data released in late December.
Making the changes work
The key to reopening applications will be to spread the word and help people apply, according to a recent discussion by the Kaiser Family Foundation with browsers that help those seeking cover in the grants. They also say that the period should last more than six weeks.
The Trump administration cut advertising by 90% and cut funding for enrollment assistance deeply – two measures that Biden must reverse. Untapped revenue from exchange user fees appears to have accumulated to more than $ 1 billion in fiscal years 2018 to 2020, according to Kaiser.
Just over half of consumers who sought coverage during the 2020 open enrollment period encountered difficulties, and nearly 5 million people sought personal help, but failed, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation released Monday. .
Many changes are expected in the health area
The case will continue even if the Biden Department of Justice withdraws because it originated with Texas and other Republican-led states. But the president could work with the new Democratic majority in Congress to short-circuit the legal arguments of Republican states – setting the fine at $ 1, for example.
Biden’s health workers should also focus on Medicaid.
These measures run counter to Biden’s promise to expand access to Medicaid, so his government is expected to seek to limit or undo these exemptions during his term, as well as possibly restoring criteria on the impact of exemptions on increasing coverage.
In addition, Congress limited states’ ability to reduce their Medicaid lists during the public health emergency. The Biden government may want to continue some of these provisions after they have ended.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.