Sunday, January 31, 2021
This Week’s Dose
Congress continued negotiations on another coronavirus (COVID-19) relief bill, and President Biden took a series of executive actions on equity and healthcare.
Congress
Lawmakers Continued Negotiations on Additional COVID-19 Relief. President Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion package that many congressional Democrats support. Though there is bipartisan support for many aspects of the plan, including additional resources for vaccination and testing, many Republicans oppose the overall spending levels and some features of the President’s proposal, including most notably additional stimulus spending and aid for state and local governments. Without Republican support, Biden’s proposal will be unable to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster and advance in the Senate (barring action to end the filibuster, which seems unlikely at this time). Democrats can either narrow the proposal to try to secure biparti
Jan 28, 2021 4:54pm
Health insurers concerns about adverse selection from a new special enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act exchanges appear to be allayed by a renewed commitment to advertising and outreach, experts say. (Valeriya/Getty)
Insurer groups are praising President Joe Biden’s move to create a three-month special enrollment period despite concerns about the potential for adverse selection.
The support means insurers likely believe they could get a large enough pool of new sign-ups to mitigate any changes to the risk pool, several experts said. Biden signed an executive order Thursday that creates a special enrollment period from Feb. 15 to May 15.