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 Biden, who took office last week, will restore access to
healthcare.gov with an executive order on Thursday afternoon, the
latest in a blizzard of moves by the Democratic president to quickly
reverse the policies of his Republican predecessor Donald Trump.
The order will allow people to sign up for insurance through the
government exchange from Feb. 15 to May 15, the White House said in
a policy fact sheet. The program is normally accessible for just six
weeks a year.
The action was expected. Biden has vowed to shore up the
healthcare.gov and other programs created under former President
Barack Obama's sweeping 2010 Affordable Care Act.
He has argued that the changes are more urgent because of the
coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 400,000 Americans.
Republicans have long opposed the healthcare restructuring law,
criticizing the cost and quality of care as well as extensive
government involvement in healthcare markets.
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 Biden also plans to direct
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.
In another action, Biden will rescind the
"Mexico City Policy" that bans U.S. funding for
international non-profit organizations that
provide abortion counseling.
Biden is set to sign the executive actions
around 1:30 p.m. ET (1830 GMT).
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Raju
Gopalakrishnan)
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