Biden plans to reopen Obamacare enrollment

Thursday’s focus is set to be on health care. Biden is also expected to sign measures strengthening Medicaid, as well as rescinding the Mexico City Policy on abortion and review the Title X abortion referral restrictions.

Augmenting the Affordable Care Act

Increasing the number of insured Americans by strengthening the Affordable Care Act was at the heart of Biden’s health care campaign promises. However, his two main measures — creating a government-run public option and increasing Obamacare’s federal premium subsidies — will require Congress and face plenty of opposition.

Reopening enrollment is a much easier lift, though it’s unclear how much impact it will have.

Also, more people have appeared to hold on to job-based coverage than expected, while those who have lost their employment and most of their income have turned to Medicaid. Between February and August, Medicaid enrollment jumped by more than 5.8 million people, or 9.1%, according to federal data released in late December.

Making the changes work

The key to reopening enrollment will be publicizing it and providing help for people to sign up, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation discussion with navigators who assist those looking for coverage on the exchanges. They also say the period should last more than six weeks.

The Trump administration slashed advertising by 90% and deeply cut funding for enrollment assistance — two measures Biden is expected to reverse. Unspent revenue from exchange user fees appear to have accumulated to more than $1 billion over fiscal years 2018 to 2020, according to Kaiser.

Just over half of consumers who looked for coverage during the open enrollment period for 2020 coverage encountered difficulties, and nearly 5 million folks sought in-person help but couldn’t get it, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis released Monday.

Many health care moves expected

The case will continue even if the Justice Department under Biden withdraws, because it originated with Texas and other Republican-led states. But the President could work with the new Democratic majority in Congress to short circuit the GOP states’ legal argument — by setting the penalty at a $1, for instance.

Biden’s health care officials are also expected to focus on Medicaid.

These measures run counter to Biden’s promise to expand access to Medicaid so his administration is expected to seek to limit or undo these waivers during his term, as well as possibly restore the criteria on waivers’ impact on increasing coverage.

Also, Congress has limited states’ ability to trim their Medicaid rolls during the public health emergency. The Biden administration may want to continue some of those provisions after it ends.