Dive Brief:
The nonprofit hospital sector is likely to receive a financial boost from the Biden administration, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings, calling the impact of planned policies largely positive.
Fitch attributes the potential upside for hospitals to the administration’s intentions to bolster the Affordable Care Act, which could reverse losses in the number of insured under the Trump administration.
Other items on Biden s agenda, including raising the income eligibility for subsidies, boosting premium tax credits and encouraging states to expand Medicaid, should also generally benefit the sector, Fitch noted.
Dive Insight:
Hospitals were hit hard during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many were forced to cancel elective procedures in order to prevent further spread of the virus and ensure there was enough capacity to treat patients who were infected. Their patient volumes have since rebounded, but most remain below pre-COVID-19 levels.
How Biden s latest executive order could affect health coverage in America
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President Biden on Thursday signed an executive order directing HHS to launch a special enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act s federal exchanges and to review policies that make it more difficult to enroll in Medicaid or exchange coverage.
Biden s latest executive order offers a glimpse at how the president will approach his broader health care agenda of expanding access to affordable health coverage. Biden s previous executive orders have focused on Covid-19 response and relief efforts, as well as addressing inequities in health care.
Executive order to expand access to coverage