President Joe Biden speaks before signing executive orders strengthening access to affordable healthcare at the White House in Washington, US, on January 28, 2021.
US President Joe Biden has reopened the nation's online health insurance marketplace for people who cannot obtain coverage through their employers, in a move he said was aimed at undoing "damage" done by his predecessor Donald Trump.
In an executive order, Biden restored access to healthcare.gov, allowing Americans to sign up for insurance through the government exchange from February 15 to May 15, the White House said. The program is normally accessible for just six weeks a year.
Biden, who took office last week, also directed federal agencies to "re-examine" Trump-era policies like work requirements that made it more difficult for people to qualify for Medicaid, the government-run health insurance program for the poor.
The actions were the latest in a blizzard of moves by the new Democratic president to reverse the policies of the Republican Trump.
"Today I'm about to sign two executive orders – basically the best way to describe them – to undo the damage Trump has done," Biden said in the Oval Office.
READ MORE: Biden issues executive orders to undo several Trump policies
Biden rescinds abortion restrictions on US foreign aid
Biden also rescinded the "Mexico City Policy" that bans US funding for international non-profit organisations that provide abortion counseling.
His decision, while expected, was cheered by abortion-choice advocates and some humanitarian groups and denounced by anti-abortion groups.
The move also included a restoration of American funding to the UN Population Fund and withdraws the US from an international accord that promotes anti-abortion policies.
“These excessive conditions on foreign and development assistance undermine the United States’ efforts to advance gender equality globally by restricting our ability to support women’s health and programs that prevent and respond to gender-based violence,” Biden said.
“The expansion of the policy has also affected all other areas of global health assistance, limiting the United States’ ability to work with local partners around the world and inhibiting their efforts to confront serious health challenges such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, among others,” he said. “Such restrictions on global health assistance are particularly harmful in light of the coronavirus disease 20 19 pandemic.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the decision as “a powerful message to women and girls around the world that their rights matter.”
Biden has vowed to shore up programs created under former President Barack Obama's sweeping 2010 Affordable Care Act, arguing that the changes are urgent because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 430,000 Americans and thrown millions out of work .
READ MORE: US federal judge rules Obamacare unconstitutional
Battle against virus a priority
Biden has made battling the virus a priority of his first days in office and proposed a new $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package for individuals and businesses on top of $4 trillion in aid approved last year.
The US Senate and House will begin moving forward on the plan next week but Republicans and some Democrats have balked at the cost.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said after Thursday's signing that Biden has been having calls with lawmakers on the legislation and said there is no intention to split the bill into two to ease passage.
She also said the Department of Health and Human Services will amend rules to allow recently retired doctors and nurses to administer the coronavirus vaccine to Americans, as it seeks to speed up the roll-out across the country.
Republicans have long opposed the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, criticising the cost and quality of care as well as extensive government involvement in healthcare markets.
The Trump administration reduced spending on programs to help the uninsured sign up for federally subsidised private insurance under Obamacare.
It also set in motion a reduction in user fees that provide the bulk of exchange revenues, leading experts to warn that cuts in spending for consumer information, outreach and assistance activities could be difficult to reverse.
Psaki said Biden will issue executive orders on immigration next week. Reuters reported that the directives had been planned for Friday, but were delayed.
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