Biden Reopens ACA Health Care Enrollment

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Thursday to reopen healthcare insurance enrollment starting Feb. 15. The new enrollment period is set to last for 90 days on Healthcare.gov, which services 36 states; the 14 states that manage their own health marketplaces may follow suit soon. This reverses some of the policies of former President Donald Trump and restores the Obama-era Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicaid. Biden said his actions are meant to “undo the damage" that Trump, who repeatedly attempted to repeal the ACA, has done; Biden's order also compels other federal agencies to reexamine Trump-era policies regarding both the ACA and Medicaid. The ACA provides health insurance to more than 23 million people; the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that 15 million Americans lack insurance and would be eligible for marketplace coverage. On Thursday Biden also issued a memorandum to revoke the Mexico City Policy, or the "global gag rule," which blocks assistance to groups that include abortion services or information in family planning programs. Coverage from left- and center-outlets analyzed how the order may expand healthcare access for the uninsured. Some right-rated outlets focused on the legal battle Trump waged throughout his term in an effort to repeal the ACA. Right-rated outlets also tended to highlight Biden's reversal of the global gag rule.