“We’re… restoring the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and restoring the Medicaid to the way it was before [Donald] Trump became president,” Biden said while signing the two executive orders. "The best way to describe both orders is to undo the damage that Trump has done.”
The first order re-opens health insurance markets that were created by Obamacare for people without employer-provided insurance, with a special enrollment period from February 15 to May 15. It also eliminates many restrictions on Medicaid eligibility that were imposed during the Trump administration, a White House fact sheet said.
The second order ends the so called Mexico City policy, which prohibits US foreign aid to private groups that provide abortions. The ban was implemented by Republican presidents and has been regularly tossed by Democratic presidents in a series of see-saw cultural policy shifts dating back to the Reagan administration.
Biden concluded brief remarks at the White House by adding that the COVID-19 crisis requires expanded affordability of, and greater access to, both Medicaid and Obamacare.
