Washington – President Biden signed a series of health care-related guidelines on Thursday that he described as undoing “the damage” done by former President Donald Trump, including taking steps to repeal and address anti-abortion rules.
“I am not starting a new law, not any new aspect of the law,” said Mr. Biden in brief comments from the Oval Office.
The president said he is “ restoring the Affordable Care Act and restoring Medicaid to the way it was before Trump became president, which he changed through fiat made more inaccessible, more expensive, and harder for people to qualify for either of these two items. . “
Mr. Biden’s executive order allows HealthCare.gov, the federal health insurance marketplace, to open for a special enrollment period from February 15 to May 15, giving Americans more time to sign up for health insurance. The injunction also mandates federal agencies to review rules and policies to make sure they don’t impede Americans’ access to health care, such as those that could reduce the affordability of health insurance or protect the Affordable Care Act for people with can undermine existing conditions.
Evan Vucci / AP
Mr. Biden also published a presidential memorandum lifting the Mexico City policy, known as the global gag rule, which prohibits US dollars from flowing to international nongovernmental organizations performing abortions, advocating legalization and expanding access to abortion, or give abortion advice.
The rule dates back to 1984, under President Ronald Reagan, but has been repealed and reinstated by the Democratic and Republican governments, respectively. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have rescinded the policy, while Mr Trump has re-enacted and expanded it.
The memorandum of Mr. Biden also instructs the Department of Health and Human Services to review the possible dismantling of a similar policy in the US that prohibits Title X money from going to health centers that provide abortion services.
The president, who was vice president when Obamacare was ratified, vowed during his presidential campaign to protect and expand the 2010 health bill, while a group of Republican states and the Trump administration fought to assassinate Obamacare in a case pending. is at the Supreme Court. Mr. Biden has emphasized that the coronavirus pandemic underscores the need for access to healthcare.