Biden signs executive actions on abortion policy and access to health care

Washington – President Biden on Thursday signed a series of healthcare-related directives he described as reversing “the damage” done by former President Donald Trump, including taking action to reverse and target anti-abortion rules .

“I’m not initiating any new law, no new aspect of the law,” Biden said in brief remarks 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 by executive order, making it more inaccessible, more expensive and more difficult for people to qualify for one 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 Feb. 15 to May 15, which will give Americans more time to purchase a health insurance coverage. The order also directs federal agencies to review rules and policies to ensure that they do not impede Americans’ access to health care, such as those that may reduce the accessibility of health coverage or undermine the Affordable Care Act protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

Mr Biden also issued a presidential memorandum denouncing the Mexico City policy, known as the global gag rule, which prohibits US dollars from flowing to international non-governmental organizations that provide abortions, advocates legalizing and expanding access to abortion or provide abortion counseling.

The rule dates back to 1984, under President Ronald Reagan, but was revoked and reinstated by the Democratic and Republican administrations respectively. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama rescinded the policy, while Mr. Trump re-enacted and expanded it.

Mr Biden’s memorandum also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to consider the potential dismantling of a similar policy in the United States that prevents Title X money from going to health centers that provide abortion services.

The president, who was vice president when Obamacare was enacted, vowed during his presidential campaign to protect and expand the 2010 health law, as a group of Republican states and the administration Trump were fighting to kill Obamacare in a case pending before the Supreme Court. Mr Biden stressed that the coronavirus pandemic underscores the need for access to health care.