United States: Record-breaking statistics have been released by the health authorities of the United States, which stated that as many as 20 million have come forward to apply for health insurance this year through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
President of the United States – Joe Biden, is expected to talk about these results a lot during his campaign in the coming months. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, who is leading among Republicans, promises to get rid of the program that started during the Obama era.
According to the reports shared by the news agency Associated Press, the announcement was made by the Biden Administration on January 10, 2024 – a few days before the closure of the open enrolment period. It is to be noted that the period was set to be closed on January 16, 2024.
The new estimates showed that this year, 25 percent more Americans have joined the health coverage compared to the previous year. It’s another year of setting records, with 16.3 million people enrolling in the program. More people signed up after Biden became the president, as Democrats introduced tax breaks. These tax breaks allow many Americans to get affordable plans, some with no premiums at all.
While addressing the same, President Joe Biden mentioned, “We must build upon this progress and make these lower health care premiums permanent. But extreme Republicans have blocked these efforts at every turn,” according to AP News.
On Wednesday, the country’s main health leader said that more people are interested in getting health coverage because of a strong effort to encourage enrollment. The government has teamed up with nonprofit organizations all over the country, especially in Black and Latino communities like South Florida, to bring in new enrollees.
They’ve also spent a lot more money hiring navigators who assist people in signing up. This program was severely cut back when President Donald Trump, who has criticized “Obamacare,” was in charge, according to AP.
In this regard, Health and Human Service Secretary – Xavier Becerra stated, “The previous administration made no effort to let people know what they could get,” adding, “We’re out there; we’re not waiting for them to come to us. We’re going to them.” The statements were shared by the Health Secretary during an interview with MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe.’
However, the good news about more people enrolling in health plans that the Biden administration celebrated on Wednesday has its drawbacks. Some of the new enrollees only joined because they were removed from Medicaid, a health coverage program for the poorest Americans or those with disabilities. The health plans they get from the marketplace will have higher costs, like more expensive premiums and copays for services.
Around 14.5 million Americans were recently removed from Medicaid after the federal government allowed states to take ineligible people off government-sponsored health insurance. States began removing millions of people from Medicaid last year, and the process had many errors, causing thousands of children and pregnant women to mistakenly lose their health insurance coverage in some states.
What has Former President Donald Trump said?
Meanwhile, Former President of the United States, Donald Trump, is frequently threatening on the campaign trail to undo the work the Biden administration has done on former President Barack Obama’s health care law, as per news agency AP.
In this regard, former President Donald Trump stated, “Obamacare is a catastrophe, nobody talks about it,” during a rally in Iowa. Furthermore, he criticized the late Republican Senator John McCain from Arizona for stopping the GOP’s attempts to get rid of the law over five years ago.
Even if the regular sign-up time for health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act is over by January 16th, those who lost Medicaid coverage might still be able to sign up until the end of July.