[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 68 (Friday, April 8, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 20689-20691]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07716]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 68 / Friday, April 8, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 20689]]
Executive Order 14070 of April 5, 2022
Continuing To Strengthen Americans' Access to
Affordable, Quality Health Coverage
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. On January 28, 2021, I signed
Executive Order 14009 (Strengthening Medicaid and the
Affordable Care Act), establishing that it is the
policy of my Administration to protect and strengthen
Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and to make
high-quality healthcare accessible and affordable for
every American. It directs executive departments and
agencies (agencies) with authorities and
responsibilities related to Medicaid and the ACA to
review existing regulations, orders, guidance
documents, policies, and any other similar agency
actions (collectively, agency actions) to determine
whether such agency actions are inconsistent with this
policy.
Consistent with Executive Order 14009, agencies have
taken numerous actions to protect and strengthen
Medicaid and the ACA, including:
(a) facilitating the expansion of Medicaid in
Missouri and Oklahoma to individuals below 138 percent
of the Federal poverty level, which is projected to
cover nearly half a million people;
(b) extending Medicaid eligibility to new
populations in order to allow pregnant individuals to
retain their Medicaid coverage for up to 1 year
postpartum, including through initiatives in Illinois,
New Jersey, Virginia, and Louisiana;
(c) operating a Special Enrollment Period during
2021 that allowed 2.8 million Americans to newly enroll
in coverage under the ACA;
(d) extending the length of the HealthCare.gov Open
Enrollment Period by 1 month and operating the most
successful Open Enrollment Period ever, with a historic
14.5 million Americans enrolling in coverage through
the ACA Marketplaces and an additional 1 million people
enrolling in Basic Health Program coverage, resulting
in a 20 percent increase over the prior year across
both programs combined;
(e) increasing outreach and enrollment funding for
organizations that help Americans apply for ACA and
Medicaid coverage, including quadrupling the number of
trained Navigators to more than 1,500 people in States
using HealthCare.gov;
(f) lowering maximum out-of-pocket costs for
consumers with employer and ACA coverage by $400 in
2022;
(g) reducing paperwork burdens for people enrolling
in Medicaid and the ACA by eliminating unnecessary
documentation requirements;
(h) allowing low-income Americans to enroll in
affordable ACA coverage year-round;
(i) strengthening Medicaid and ACA section 1332
waiver policies to partner with States to develop
innovative coverage options, strengthen benefits, and
lower costs;
(j) proposing rules that would better ensure
comprehensive and standardized coverage and improve the
adequacy of ACA provider networks; and
[[Page 20690]]
(k) making efforts to improve the affordability of
ACA coverage for families by proposing rules to correct
a regulatory gap that prevents family members from
accessing ACA subsidies despite very high premiums for
coverage through an employer.
On March 11, 2021, I signed into law the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2), which will
further strengthen Medicaid and the ACA in numerous
ways, including by making ACA coverage more affordable
for 9 million Americans through enhanced ACA subsidies,
incentivizing States to adopt the ACA's Medicaid
expansion, making it easier for States to extend
postpartum Medicaid coverage, establishing new options
for States to establish mobile crisis intervention
services teams to help provide services to Medicaid
beneficiaries experiencing a behavioral health crisis,
and increasing Medicaid funding for home- and
community-based services to strengthen and expand
access to services for millions of seniors and people
with disabilities who need care as well as to help
States strengthen their programs.
My Administration has made significant progress in
making healthcare more affordable and accessible to
millions of Americans. From the end of 2020 to
September 2021, one in seven uninsured Americans gained
coverage, leaving the uninsured rate at nearly an all-
time low. Despite this progress, nearly 4 million
Americans continue to be locked out of Medicaid
expansion because they reside in 1 of the 12 States
that have failed to adopt the ACA's Medicaid expansion.
In addition, millions more continue to struggle to
obtain the care they need, to go without health
coverage, or to be enrolled in coverage that is
insufficient to meet their needs. The effects of being
uninsured or underinsured can be devastating
financially, as families without access to affordable
coverage may accrue high levels of medical debt.
It remains the policy of my Administration to protect
and strengthen Medicaid and the ACA and to make high-
quality healthcare accessible and affordable for every
American. Agencies with authorities and
responsibilities related to Medicaid and the ACA are
continuing their review of existing agency actions
under Executive Order 14009.
Sec. 2. Agency Responsibilities. In addition to taking
the actions directed pursuant to Executive Order 14009,
agencies (as described in section 3502(1) of title 44,
United States Code, except for the agencies described
in section 3502(5) of title 44, United States Code)
with responsibilities related to Americans' access to
health coverage shall review agency actions to identify
ways to continue to expand the availability of
affordable health coverage, to improve the quality of
coverage, to strengthen benefits, and to help more
Americans enroll in quality health coverage. As part of
this review, the heads of such agencies shall examine
the following:
(a) policies or practices that make it easier for
all consumers to enroll in and retain coverage,
understand their coverage options, and select
appropriate coverage;
(b) policies or practices that strengthen benefits
and improve access to healthcare providers;
(c) policies or practices that improve the
comprehensiveness of coverage and protect consumers
from low-quality coverage;
(d) policies or practices that expand eligibility
and lower costs for coverage in the ACA Marketplaces,
Medicaid, Medicare, and other programs;
(e) policies or practices that help improve
linkages between the healthcare system and other
stakeholders to address health-related needs; and
(f) policies or practices that help reduce the
burden of medical debt on households.
Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
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(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 5, 2022.
[FR Doc. 2022-07716
Filed 4-7-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P