Health

President Biden and the Affordable Care Act

In an eventful first week as Commander-in-Chief, President Biden has already signed 22 executive orders into law. Despite claims during his campaign that governing by executive order is dictatorial, Biden has not been afraid to introduce sweeping change by the stroke of a pen signing more presidential memorandums in his first week than the last seven Presidents combined. After slashing the Keystone pipeline project in the name of climate change, the Biden team set their sights on health care and the Affordable Care Act. Biden’s introductory legislative action in the health care sector directed the Department of Health and Human Services to open a special enrollment period for Obamacare through healthcare.gov, the federally-run health insurance marketplace. The move provides protection to individuals who lost their employer-based coverage as a result of COVID-19 and allows nearly 9 million Americans to receive health insurance subsidized by other taxpayers. The national debt currently stands at almost $28 trillion and recent stimulus packages have only added to the deficit. To afford these programs, Biden will inevitably raise taxes forcing the middle class to shoulder the burden.

Next in the flurry of executive action were orders to reexamine Medicaid work requirements and begin the process of undoing the Trump Administration’s efforts to provide Americans with more options for health care coverage including short term plans, Association Health Plans, and Health Reimbursement Arrangements.

In his first week as Chief of State, the 46th President has demonstrated his desire to push health care away from the private sector and into the hands of the federal government. This will result in stifled innovation, reduced quality of care, and cost our nation trillions in wasteful spending. An alternate health care plan must be developed that protects those with preexisting conditions while safeguarding free-market economics and consumer choice.


In Depth: Health

There has never been a time when both federal and state jurisdictions have been more in control of American’s healthcare than it is today. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act is well in motion, and each state has considered how to address provisions of the federal law as it has…

+ Health In Depth