Biden to open online health insurance marketplace for special COVID-19 coverage

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, US President Joe Biden has planned to reopen the online health insurance market place in the United States for citizens to obtain coverage who are cannot do the same through their employers, the White House said on January 28. Biden who took the office on January 20 in a country impacted with a global health crisis, affected economy among other divisive forces, now tends to restore access to healthcare.gov with an executive order on Thursday afternoon (local time). This would also be the latest move by the 46th US President among the flurry of executive actions he took since his swearing-in ceremony and reversed a range of policies introduced by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump. 

The order will allow US citizens to sign up for insurance through the government exchange from February 15 to May 15, the White House said in a policy fact sheet published on Thursday. This programme normally is only accessible for six weeks a year. Biden’s move in the health sector was expected as he had vowed to shore up the healthcare.gov, and other programmes introduced under former President Barack Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act.

The White House fact sheet stated, “After four years of attempts to strip health care from millions of Americans, President Biden will sign two executive actions that will begin to restore and strengthen Americans’ access to quality, affordable health care. The Biden-Harris administration will re-open enrollment to the Health Insurance Marketplace, take additional steps to strengthen Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and protect women’s health.”

“These actions demonstrate a strong commitment by the Biden-Harris Administration to protect and build on the Affordable Care Act, meet the health care needs created by the pandemic, reduce health care costs, protect access to reproductive health care, and make our health care system easier to navigate and more equitable,” it added.

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Biden's First Week Approval Rating Higher Than Trump's Ever Was

Biden's flurry of executive actions came just in the first week of his presidency and recently a poll conducted by a Monmouth University on January 27 revealed that US President Joe Biden has a higher approval rating after one week in office than Donald Trump did in his entire presidency. The poll showed that 54 per cent of American approve of Biden’s performance and 30 per cent disapproved. Trump, on the other hand, spent his presidential term period with ratings in the low 40s, with approval of just 34 per cent.  Biden also won 90 per cent approval from Democrats but only 47 per cent from independents and 15 per cent from Republicans. 

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Image credits: The Associated Press