By Kevin Deutsch
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President Joe Biden on Thursday signed an executive order restoring access to Obamacare and Medicaid for scores of struggling Americans, stating he was undoing “the damage” caused by President Trump.
“I’m not initiating any new law, any new aspect of the law,” Biden said during remarks from the Oval Office.
Rather, Biden said he was “restoring the Affordable Care Act and restoring the Medicaid to the way it was before Trump became president, which by fiat he changed, made more inaccessible, more expensive and more difficult for people to qualify for either of those two items.”
Biden’s actions Thursday mean the government’s insurance signup portal HealthCare.gov – whose enrollment periods shrank on Trump’s orders – will open for a special enrollment period from February 15 to May 15.
The president also issued orders aimed at broadening access to care, including for people with pre-existing conditions.