President Donald Trump’s first actions in the Oval Office included repealing the health care policies put forth by former President Joe Biden, including the expansion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as “ObamaCare.”
Immediately after taking the oath of office on Monday, Trump quickly recalled a long list of Bidens executive orders covering a wide range of issues. Two of the orders revoked involved Biden’s efforts to expand access to the ACA and restore the federal program “to the way it was before Trump became president” the first time.
The move angered Democrats, who argued that the action was “attack” on the federal health insurance program.
“Donald Trump’s immediate priority as president is to cut affordable health care for tens of millions of Americans and screw people with pre-existing conditions,” Democratic National Committee he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Shortly after taking office in January 2021, Biden passed Executive Order 14009, titled “Strengthening Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.” The move, which Trump rescinded as part of Day One executive actions, doubled the time frame uninsured Americans had to sign up to participate in the federal insurance program. Under Trump’s first term, the ACA’s open enrollment period lasted six weeks.
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In addition to expanding the open enrollment period, Biden’s January 2021 executive order also directed all relevant federal agencies to examine their policies and implement any necessary changes to get more people covered under the ACA.
President Trump has denied that he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act. (Getty Images)
Meanwhile, in April of next year, Biden signed a second executive order to “Continue to Strengthen Americans’ Access to Affordable, Quality Health Insurance,” which Trump also rescinded on Monday. Biden’s April order mandated Department of Health and Social Services analyze new policies aimed at “exploring ways to collect medical debt from consumers,” to find new ways to reduce “the burden of medical debt on working families and individuals across the country.”
Under both of these orders, the agencies made it easier to expand the ACA through new eligibility provisions, increased funding for groups that help people sign up for the ACA, and more.
Other changes Trump made during his first days in office included revoking a Biden-era policy that required Medicare and Medicaid to investigate how to lower drug costs. In response to that order, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) imposed a $2 cap on certain generic drugs, ensured that Medicare beneficiaries did not overpay for fast-approved drugs, and helped state Medicaid programs pay for certain high costs , top therapies. Biden’s policies capping insulin costs at $35 and implementing a $2,000 out-of-pocket maximum for prescription drug costs did not affect Trump’s first-day orders.
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Trump also acted during his first day in office to reverse several of Biden’s health care orders related to COVID-19, such as directives to ensure equality in the response to the pandemic and a requirement for a COVID-19 vaccine for federal workers. He withdrew the US from participating in the World Health Organizationalso.
The Democratic National Committee claimed on Tuesday that Trump was “screwing over people with pre-existing illnesses.”
“Donald Trump’s immediate priority as president is to eliminate affordable health care for tens of millions of Americans,” the DNC said in a statement Tuesday. “Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, more Americans have health insurance than ever before, and Trump wants to slow this progress even though the American people overwhelmingly support the ACA. Trump’s plans will do nothing but raise costs and make Americans sicker.”
Still, according to a Vanderbilt University health policy expert, Trump’s health policy moves are unlikely to be consequential when it comes to how much Americans pay for their health care.
An emergency sign points toward the entrance of Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., on March 23, 2017. (Reuters/Mike Blake)
“When administrations change, many of them want to reverse some of the actions of other presidents, even when they are more symbolic,” said Dr. Stacie Dusetzina, professor in Vanderbilt’s Department of Health Policy NBC news. “This could mean that the Trump administration is not interested in continuing any business that has since come out of these executive orders.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump administration for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
