100-528: The White House COVID-19 Response Team was the task force during the presidency of Joe Biden to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States . It was set up by President Joe Biden on his first day in office – January 20, 2021 – and replaced President Trump 's White House Coronavirus Task Force and President Biden's transitional COVID-19 Advisory Board . The task force
200-489: A lawsuit to break-up Live Nation and Ticketmaster . On January 14, 2021, Biden revealed a $ 1.9 trillion stimulus bill, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 . The plan includes $ 1 trillion in direct aid, including $ 1,400 per-person checks, for working Americans, and would provide for direct housing and nutrition assistance, expanding access to safe and reliable childcare and affordable healthcare, increasing
300-460: A "position of trusted leadership" among global democracies in order to address the challenges posed by Russia and China . Biden signed AUKUS , an international security alliance together with Australia and the United Kingdom . He supported the expansion of NATO with the additions of Finland and Sweden . Biden approved a raid which led to the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi ,
400-405: A combination of new taxes and cuts to Medicare provider rates and Medicare Advantage . Several Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports said that overall these provisions reduced the budget deficit , that repealing ACA would increase the deficit, and that the law reduced income inequality by taxing primarily the top 1% to fund roughly $ 600 in benefits on average to families in the bottom 40% of
500-547: A face mask requirement on nearly all forms of public transportation and inside of transportation hubs; previously, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had recommended that such a policy be enacted but it was blocked by the Trump administration, under which the CDC issued strong, albeit non-binding recommendations for mask use in these settings. In mid-March 2021, Biden dismissed
600-703: A greater embrace of diversity. He cited the American Civil War , Great Depression , world wars , and September 11 attacks as moments in American history where citizens' "better angels" prevailed, saying that the unity, the solution, must again be invoked to rise from the "cascading" crises of the present; this unity, he proclaimed, exists in the "common objects" that define America: "opportunity, liberty, dignity, respect, honor, and ... truth." He explicitly decried white supremacy and nativism , calling them an "ugly reality" of American life he vows to defeat that clouds
700-413: A host of delivery system reforms intended to constrain healthcare costs and improve quality. After it went into effect, increases in overall healthcare spending slowed, including premiums for employer-based insurance plans. The increased coverage was due, roughly equally, to an expansion of Medicaid eligibility and to changes to individual insurance markets. Both received new spending, funded through
800-530: A mob of thousands of Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol in the hope of overturning Biden's election, forcing Congress to evacuate during the counting of the Electoral College votes . More than 26,000 National Guard members were deployed to the capital for the inauguration, with thousands remaining into the spring. On January 20, 2021, Biden was sworn in by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts as
900-588: A monetary penalty) and that insurers cover a list of " essential health benefits ". Before and after enactment the ACA faced strong political opposition, calls for repeal and legal challenges . In National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius , the Supreme Court ruled that states could choose not to participate in the law's Medicaid expansion, but upheld the law as a whole. The federal health insurance exchange, HealthCare.gov , faced major technical problems at
1000-552: A month before the pandemic began. In July 2021, amid a slowing of the COVID-19 vaccination rate in the country and the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant , Biden said that the U.S. has "a pandemic for those who haven't gotten the vaccination" and that it was therefore "gigantically important" for Americans to be vaccinated, touting the vaccines' effectiveness against hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. He also criticized
1100-596: A promise in the risk corridors program that it has yet to fulfill. Today, the court directs the Government to fulfill that promise. After all, to say to [Moda], 'The joke is on you. You shouldn't have trusted us,' is hardly worthy of our great government." Moda Health's case was appealed by the government to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit along with the appeals of the other insurers; here,
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#17328511209041200-638: A report by Reuters , in mid-2021 the Biden administration ended a military-run propaganda campaign to spread disinformation about the Sinovac Chinese COVID-19 vaccine which had begun in 2020 during the Trump administration. The campaign was described as "payback" for COVID-19 disinformation by China directed against the U.S. Primarily targeting people in the Philippines , the campaign used fake social media accounts to spread disinformation, including that
1300-476: A request by the European Union to export unused COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca out of the U.S. even though the manufacturer endorsed it and vowed to resupply the doses. The rationale for this decision, which contributed to low European vaccination rates, was that the U.S. had to be "over-supplied and over-prepared", according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki . Whereas the U.S. exported no vaccines,
1400-793: A significant expansion of the U.S. social safety net through the Build Back Better Act , but those efforts, along with voting rights legislation , failed in Congress. In August 2022, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 , a domestic appropriations bill that included some of the provisions of the Build Back Better Act after the entire bill failed to pass. It included significant federal investment in climate and domestic clean energy production, tax credits for solar panels, electric cars and other home energy programs as well as
1500-542: A subsidy. The subsidies for an ACA plan purchased on an exchange stop at 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL). According to the Kaiser Foundation, this results in a sharp "discontinuity of treatment" at 400% FPL, which is sometimes called the "subsidy cliff". After-subsidy premiums for the second lowest cost silver plan (SCLSP) just below the cliff are 9.86% of income in 2019. Subsidies are provided as an advanceable, refundable tax credit . The amount of subsidy
1600-647: A three-year expansion of Affordable Care Act subsidies originally expanded under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and $ 265 billion for prescription drug price reform to lower prices, including providing Medicare the authority to negotiate the prices for certain drugs with pharmaceutical companies. That same month, Biden signed into law the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 , which expands federal health care access, services, and funding for veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their service, including toxic smoke from burn pits . Drug overdoses killed 106,699 in
1700-592: A three-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, an insulin price cap, and a provision allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. In late 2022, Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act , which repealed the Defense of Marriage Act and codified same-sex and interracial marriage in the United States. Other domestic legislation signed during his term included the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act ,
1800-431: A waiver, a state must pass legislation setting up an alternative health system that provides insurance at least as comprehensive and as affordable as ACA, covers at least as many residents and does not increase the federal deficit. These states can escape some of ACA's central requirements, including the individual and employer mandates and the provision of an insurance exchange. The state would receive compensation equal to
1900-457: Is $ 250,000 for a married couple filing jointly (threshold applies to their total compensation), or $ 125,000 for a married person filing separately. In ACA's companion legislation, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 , an additional tax of 3.8% was applied to unearned income, specifically the lesser of net investment income and the amount by which adjusted gross income exceeds
2000-614: Is a fee-for-service model. The Act allowed the creation of accountable care organizations (ACOs), which are groups of doctors, hospitals and other providers that commit to give coordinated care to Medicare patients. ACOs were allowed to continue using fee-for-service billing. They receive bonus payments from the government for minimizing costs while achieving quality benchmarks that emphasize prevention and mitigation of chronic disease . Missing cost or quality benchmarks subjected them to penalties. Unlike health maintenance organizations , ACO patients are not required to obtain all care from
2100-409: Is sufficient to reduce the premium for the second-lowest-cost silver plan (SCLSP) on an exchange to a sliding-scale percentage of income. The percentage is based on the percent of federal poverty level (FPL) for the household, and varies slightly from year to year. In 2019, it ranged from 2.08% of income (100%-133% FPL) to 9.86% of income (300%-400% FPL). The subsidy can be used for any plan available on
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#17328511209042200-549: The Affordable Care Act , the child tax credit , $ 1400 stimulus checks, and the expansion of SNAP benefits also boosted balance sheets for low and middle-income Americans. New business formation rose 30% from pre-pandemic levels, and was notably strong among women. Biden also signed three major pieces of longer-term economic legislation to repair infrastructure like roads, bridges and water pipes, boost semiconductor investment, and expand green energy. In February 2024,
2300-531: The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation , the Independent Payment Advisory Board , and accountable care organizations . Health care cost/quality initiatives included incentives to reduce hospital infections , adopt electronic medical records , and to coordinate care and prioritize quality over quantity. Medicare switched from fee-for-service to bundled payments . A single payment
2400-574: The Democratic Party won control of the United States Senate , effective January 20, as a result of electoral victories in Georgia by Jon Ossoff in a runoff election for a six-year term and Raphael Warnock in a special runoff election for a two-year term . President-elect Biden had supported and campaigned for both candidates prior to the runoff elections on January 5. On January 6,
2500-557: The Gaza Strip and brokered a four-day temporary pause and hostage exchange . Biden negotiated and oversaw the 2024 Ankara prisoner exchange , the largest prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War , involving the release of twenty-six individuals, including American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former United States Marine Paul Whelan . Biden began his term with over 50% approval ratings; however, these fell significantly after
2600-505: The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 amendment, it represents the U.S. healthcare system 's most significant regulatory overhaul and expansion of coverage since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Most of the act's provisions are still in effect. The ACA's major provisions came into force in 2014. By 2016, the uninsured share of the population had roughly halved, with estimates ranging from 20 to 24 million additional people covered. The law also enacted
2700-547: The Medicare prescription drug benefit . While many insurers initially offered exchange plans, the program did not pay for itself as planned, losing up to $ 8.3 billion for 2014 and 2015. Authorization had to be given so DHHS could pay insurers from "general government revenues". However, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (H.R. 3547) stated that no funds "could be used for risk-corridor payments". leaving
2800-623: The Paris Agreement , revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and halting funding for Trump's border wall . On his second day, he issued a series of executive orders to reduce the impact of COVID-19 , including invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950 , and set an early goal of achieving one hundred million COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States in his first 100 days. The first major legislation signed into law by Biden
2900-538: The Public Health Service Act of 1944 and inserted new provisions on affordable care into Title 42 of the United States Code . The individual insurance market was radically overhauled, and many of the law's regulations applied specifically to this market, while the structure of Medicare, Medicaid, and the employer market were largely retained. Some regulations applied to the employer market, and
3000-595: The Senate , leaving the partisan balance in the Senate at fifty Democrats and fifty Republicans, with vice president Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote giving Democrats control of the chamber. Though Biden was generally acknowledged as the winner, General Services Administration head Emily W. Murphy initially refused to begin the transition to the president-elect, thereby denying funds and office space to his team. On November 23, after Michigan certified its results, Murphy issued
3100-481: The U.S. Supreme Court —the first Black woman to serve on the court. In response to the debt-ceiling crisis of 2023 , Biden negotiated and signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 , which restrains federal spending for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, implements minor changes to SNAP and TANF , includes energy permitting reform, claws back some IRS funding and unspent money for COVID-19 , and suspends
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3200-601: The World Health Organization (WHO), making Dr. Anthony Fauci the head of the delegation to the WHO. On January 21, the administration released a 200-page document titled "National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness". That same day, Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to speed up the vaccination process and ensure the availability of glass vials, syringes, and other vaccine supplies at
3300-513: The debt ceiling to January 1, 2025. He established the American Climate Corps and created the first ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention . On September 26, 2023, Biden visited a United Auto Workers picket line during the 2023 United Auto Workers strike , making him the first US president to visit one. The foreign policy goal of the Biden administration is to restore the US to
3400-439: The insurance death spiral , minimize the free rider problem and prevent the healthcare system from succumbing to adverse selection . The mandate was intended to increase the size and diversity of the insured population, including more young and healthy participants to broaden the risk pool , spreading costs. Among the groups who were not subject to the individual mandate are: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 , set to $ 0
3500-620: The nomination of the Democratic Party in the 2020 presidential election on April 25, 2019, having previously sought the Democratic nomination in 1988 and 2008 , being unsuccessful both times. In June 2020, Biden clinched the nomination by winning a majority of the delegates to become the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party following the party's presidential primaries. Biden selected Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate , and they were officially nominated as
3600-490: The poverty line would qualify for coverage in any state that participated in the Medicaid program. Previously, states could set various lower thresholds for certain groups and were not required to cover adults without dependent children. The federal government was to pay 100% of the increased cost in 2014, 2015 and 2016; 95% in 2017, 94% in 2018, 93% in 2019, and 90% in 2020 and all subsequent years. A 5% "income disregard" made
3700-627: The presidency of Barack Obama , as his White House press secretary. Psaki announced, and has held, daily press briefings for White House reporters. On March 25, 2021, Biden held his first solo press conference after 64 days in office, unlike his most recent predecessors (back to Herbert Hoover in 1929), who all held their first solo press conferences within 33 days of taking office. On November 17, 2020, Biden announced that he had selected Mike Donilon as senior advisor and Steve Ricchetti as counselor. Jen O'Malley Dillon , who had served as campaign manager for Biden's successful presidential campaign,
3800-540: The "American ideal" set out in the U.S. Declaration of Independence — that all Americans are equal . Biden pledged that the U.S. would "engage with the world once again", "repair our alliances", and act as a "trusted partner for peace and security". Near the conclusion of his speech, Biden held a moment of silence for those who died in the COVID-19 pandemic. Quoting the Gene Scheer composition "American Anthem", he implored Americans to consider their legacy in answering
3900-617: The "call of history" to protect "democracy, hope, truth, and justice", "secure liberty", and make America a "beacon to the world", insisting that generations of their descendants would judge them on their actions. Biden was inaugurated alongside Kamala Harris , the first woman, first African American , and first Asian American vice president. On November 11, 2020, Biden selected Ron Klain , who served as his vice presidential chief of staff, to serve as his White House chief of staff . Biden chose Jen Psaki , deputy White House press secretary and U.S. Department of State spokesperson during
4000-477: The 46th president of the United States , completing the oath of office at 11:49 am EST, eleven minutes before the legal start of his term. Biden's inaugural speech laid out his vision to unite the nation, prefaced by the various impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic strife , climate change , political polarization , and racial injustice . Biden called for an end to the "uncivil war" of political, demographic, and ideological American cultures through
4100-512: The ACA and the use of riders to de-obligate its from those payments was illegal. The temporary reinsurance program is meant to stabilize premiums by reducing the incentive for insurers to raise premiums due to concerns about higher-risk enrollees. Reinsurance was based on retrospective costs rather than prospective risk evaluations. Reinsurance was available from 2014 through 2016. Risk adjustment involves transferring funds from plans with lower-risk enrollees to plans with higher-risk enrollees. It
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4200-512: The ACO. Also, unlike HMOs, ACOs must achieve quality-of-care goals. Medicare Part D participants received a 50% discount on brand name drugs purchased after exhausting their initial coverage and before reaching the catastrophic-coverage threshold . By 2020, the "doughnut hole" would be completely filled. From 2017 onwards, states can apply for a "waiver for state innovation" which allows them to conduct experiments that meet certain criteria. To obtain
4300-561: The CDC for implementing this change after lobbying by Delta Airlines , leading to social media backlash against the federal government. Biden gave a speech at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on September 12, 2022, the 60th anniversary of Kennedy's We Choose to Go to the Moon speech, promoting his administration's revival of the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot , including
4400-711: The Democratic ticket at the 2020 Democratic National Convention . Incumbent president Donald Trump ran for re-election for the Republican nomination , becoming the party's presumptive nominee in March 2020 after comfortably winning the primaries without facing any significant rivals. At the Republican National Convention in August 2020, he formally accepted the party's nomination with incumbent vice president Mike Pence as his running mate. On November 7, four days after
4500-492: The European Union exported 77 million doses to the world from December 2020 to March 2021. Eventually, the U.S. reversed course and gave vaccine doses from AstraZeneca to Mexico, Canada, and Japan by the end of March. On May 6, 2021, the Biden administration announced that it supports waiving patent protections on existing COVID-19 vaccines so that other countries can produce generic variants, after weeks of pressure from
4600-658: The FPL. Medicaid recipients were not eligible for the reductions. So-called cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies were to be paid to insurance companies to fund the reductions. During 2017, approximately $ 7 billion in CSR subsidies were to be paid, versus $ 34 billion for premium tax credits. The latter was defined as mandatory spending that does not require an annual Congressional appropriation. CSR payments were not explicitly defined as mandatory. This led to litigation and disruption later. ACA implemented multiple approaches to helping mitigate
4700-484: The Federal Circuit reversed the Moda Health ruling and ruled across all the cases in favor of the government, that the appropriations riders ceded the government from paying out remain money due to the insurers. The Supreme Court reversed this ruling in the consolidated case, Maine Community Health Options v. United States , reaffirming as with Judge Wheeler that the government had a responsibility to pay those funds under
4800-509: The Sinovac vaccine contained pork-derived ingredients and was therefore haram under Islamic law . On January 21, 2021, Biden signed ten executive orders pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to meet his vaccination goal of a hundred million shots in his first 100 days in office, Biden signed an executive order increasing needed supplies. Biden signed an order on January 21 that directed FEMA to offer full reimbursements to states for
4900-558: The Supreme Court of the United States , 45 judges for the United States courts of appeals , 173 judges for the United States district courts and two judges for the United States Court of International Trade . Biden strongly campaigned for the presidency on the public option , a policy that, if enacted into law, would have offered Americans a choice between maintaining their private healthcare insurance or buying into Medicare. The idea
5000-628: The Taliban seized control , leading to Biden receiving bipartisan criticism. He responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Russia as well as providing Ukraine with over $ 100 billion in combined military, economic, and humanitarian aid . During the Israel–Hamas war , Biden condemned the actions of Hamas and other Palestinian militants as terrorism and announced American military support for Israel ; he also sent humanitarian aid to
5100-501: The United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a member of the Democratic Party who previously served as vice president for two terms under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017, took office after his victory in the 2020 presidential election over the incumbent president, Donald Trump of the Republican Party . Upon his inauguration, he became the oldest president in American history , breaking
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#17328511209045200-492: The United States in 2021. Opioids were involved in 80,411 overdose deaths in 2021, up from around 10,000 in 1999. In June 2023, U.S. federal prosecutors announced criminal indictments of fentanyl precursor producers in China. In October 2023, OFAC sanctioned a China-based network of fentanyl manufacturers and distributors. In 2023, the Biden administration announced a crackdown on Mexican drug cartels smuggling fentanyl into
5300-411: The United States. Rahul Gupta led White House efforts to combat the opioid epidemic . On January 20, 2021, his first day as president, Biden implemented a federal mask mandate , requiring the use of masks and social distancing in all federal buildings, on federal lands, and by federal employees and contractors. Biden also signed an executive order that reversed the withdrawal of the U.S. from
5400-440: The above income limits. ACA included an excise tax of 40% (" Cadillac tax ") on total employer premium spending in excess of specified dollar amounts (initially $ 10,200 for single coverage and $ 27,500 for family coverage ) indexed to inflation. This tax was originally scheduled to take effect in 2018, but was delayed until 2020 by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 and again to 2022. The excise tax on high-cost health plans
5500-453: The battleground states of Arizona , Georgia , Michigan , Nevada , Pennsylvania , and Wisconsin , raising unevidenced claims of widespread voter fraud that were subsequently dismissed by courts. The electoral votes were certified on January 6–7, 2021. In the concurrent congressional elections , Democrats retained a narrow majority in the House of Representatives and narrowly took control of
5600-399: The beginning of its rollout in 2013. Polls initially found that a plurality of Americans opposed the act, although its individual provisions were generally more popular. By 2017, the law had majority support. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 set the individual mandate penalty at $ 0 starting in 2019 due to its overall unpopularity and to reduce the federal budget deficit. ACA amended
5700-507: The cabinet in 2023. While administering the oath of office to hundreds of White House officials through video conferencing , Biden called for more civility in politics, saying: "If you ever work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot. ... No ifs, ands, or buts." As of November 21, 2024 , the United States Senate has confirmed 221 Article III judges nominated by Biden: one associate justice of
5800-421: The cost of using their own National Guard personnel and emergency supplies such as Personal Protective Equipment in schools. On January 24, 2021, Biden reinstated a travel ban imposed by President Trump on Brazil , United Kingdom , Ireland , South Africa , and 26 other European countries. The travel ban prevents non-U.S. citizens living in the prospective countries from entering the U.S. Biden implemented
5900-577: The disruptions to insurers that came with its many changes. The risk-corridor program was a temporary risk management device. It was intended to encourage reluctant insurers into ACA insurance market from 2014 to 2016. For those years the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) would cover some of the losses for insurers whose plans performed worse than they expected. Loss-making insurers would receive payments paid for in part by profit-making insurers. Similar risk corridors had been established for
6000-855: The effective income eligibility limit for Medicaid 138% of the poverty level. However, the Supreme Court ruled in NFIB v. Sebelius that this provision of ACA was coercive, and that states could choose to continue at pre-ACA eligibility levels. Medicare reimbursements were reduced to insurers and drug companies for private Medicare Advantage policies that the Government Accountability Office and Medicare Payment Advisory Commission found to be excessively costly relative to standard Medicare; and to hospitals that failed standards of efficiency and care. Income from self-employment and wages of single individuals in excess of $ 200,000 annually are subjected to an additional tax of 0.9%. The threshold amount
6100-416: The election, Biden was projected to have won Pennsylvania (a flip from the previous presidential election ), thereby receiving enough electoral votes to secure the presidency, becoming the president-elect of the United States . Biden won the presidential election with 306 electoral votes compared to Trump's 232. The Trump campaign launched at least 63 lawsuits against the results , especially in
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#17328511209046200-522: The employee's coverage) through their own or a family member's employer. Households below the federal poverty level are not eligible to receive these subsidies. Lawful Residents and some other legally present immigrants whose household income is below 100% FPL and are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid are eligible for subsidies if they meet all other eligibility requirements. Married people must file taxes jointly to receive subsidies. Enrollees must have U.S. citizenship or proof of legal residency to obtain
6300-481: The exchange, but not catastrophic plans. The subsidy may not exceed the premium for the purchased plan. (In this section, the term "income" refers to modified adjusted gross income . ) Small businesses are eligible for a tax credit provided they enroll in the SHOP Marketplace. a. ^ In 2019, the federal poverty level was $ 25,100 for family of four (outside of Alaska and Hawaii). b. ^ If
6400-552: The federal government responsible for operating their exchanges. Individuals whose household incomes are between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL) are eligible to receive federal subsidies for premiums for policies purchased on an ACA exchange, provided they are not eligible for Medicare , Medicaid , the Children's Health Insurance Program , or other forms of public assistance health coverage, and do not have access to affordable coverage (no more than 9.86% of income for
6500-523: The federal level. In justifying his use of the act, Biden said: "And when I say wartime, people kind of look at me like 'wartime?' Well, as I said last night, 400,000 Americans have died. That's more than have died in all of World War II. 400,000. This is a wartime undertaking." Biden established the White House COVID-19 Response Team , a White House Office dedicated to coordinating a unified federal government response. According to
6600-640: The first major federal gun control law in nearly three decades; the CHIPS and Science Act , bolstering the semiconductor and manufacturing industry; the Honoring our PACT Act , expanding health care for US veterans; the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act ; and the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act , making Juneteenth a federal holiday in the United States . He appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to
6700-503: The government has subsidized a full-time employee's healthcare through tax deductions or other means. This is commonly known as the employer mandate . This provision was included to encourage employers to continue providing insurance once the exchanges began operating. The act includes delivery system reforms intended to constrain costs and improve quality. These include Medicare payment changes to discourage hospital-acquired conditions and readmissions , bundled payment initiatives,
6800-587: The government in a potential breach of contract with insurers who offered qualified health plans. Several insurers sued the government at the United States Court of Federal Claims to recover the funds believed owed to them under the Risk Corridors program. While several were summarily closed, in the case of Moda Health v the United States , Moda Health won a $ 214-million judgment in February 2017. Federal Claims judge Thomas C. Wheeler stated, "the Government made
6900-413: The income distribution. The act largely retained the existing structure of Medicare, Medicaid, and the employer market , but individual markets were radically overhauled. Insurers were made to accept all applicants without charging based on preexisting conditions or demographic status (except age). To combat the resultant adverse selection , the act mandated that individuals buy insurance (or pay
7000-463: The international community. On 7 May, French president Emmanuel Macron called on the U.S. "to put an end to export bans not only on vaccines but on vaccine ingredients, which prevent production." On May 26, 2021, Biden ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to increase their investigations into the origin of the virus , after reports that researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology became ill
7100-421: The law also made delivery system changes that affected most of the health care system. All new individual major medical health insurance policies sold to individuals and families faced new requirements. The requirements took effect on January 1, 2014. They include: The individual mandate required everyone to have insurance or pay a penalty . The mandate and limits on open enrollment were designed to avoid
7200-515: The leader of the Islamic State , and approved a drone strike which killed Ayman Al Zawahiri , leader of Al-Qaeda. He completed the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan , declaring an end to nation-building efforts and shifting U.S. foreign policy toward strategic competition with China and, to a lesser extent, Russia. However, during the withdrawal, the Afghan government collapsed and
7300-474: The letter of ascertainment, granting the Biden transition team access to federal funds and resources for an orderly transition. Two days after becoming the projected winner of the 2020 election, Biden announced the formation of a task force to advise him on the COVID-19 pandemic during the transition, co-chaired by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy , former FDA commissioner David A. Kessler , and Yale University's Marcella Nunez-Smith . On January 5, 2021,
7400-417: The midst of an all-time high of new COVID-19 cases, the Centers for Disease Control revised their guidelines, recommending five days of quarantine rather than ten without requiring a negative COVID-19 test. This move was criticized by health experts who worry that without rapid testing , COVID-positive people may unknowingly spread COVID-19 in workplaces under the recommended CDC guidelines. Others criticize
7500-400: The minimum wage, extending unemployment insurance, and giving families with kids and childless workers an emergency boost this year. It would also expand the eligibility of these checks to adult dependents who have been left out of previous rounds of relief. The plan additionally includes $ 440 billion in community support, providing $ 350 billion of community support to first responders while
7600-492: The new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health . The New Republic praised Biden's economic record in July 2024, highlighting record low unemployment leading to a growth in wages at the lower end of the wage distribution as workers had more bargaining power. While inflation was painful, it has returned near its pre-pandemic rate and was similar to peer countries, though the U.S. has grown faster than its peers. The expansion of
7700-732: The penalty for not complying with the individual mandate, starting in 2019. ACA mandated that health insurance exchanges be provided for each state. The exchanges are regulated, largely online marketplaces, administered by either federal or state governments, where individuals, families and small businesses can purchase private insurance plans. Exchanges first offered insurance for 2014. Some exchanges also provide access to Medicaid. States that set up their own exchanges have some discretion on standards and prices. For example, states approve plans for sale, and thereby influence (through negotiations) prices. They can impose additional coverage requirements—such as abortion. Alternatively, states can make
7800-661: The premium for the second lowest cost silver plan (SLCSP) is greater than the amount in this column, the amount of the premium subsidy will be such that it brings the net cost of the SCLSP down to the amount in this column. Otherwise, there will be no subsidy, and the SLCSP premium will (of course) be no more than (usually less than) the amount in this column. Note: The numbers in the table do not apply for Alaska and Hawaii. As written, ACA mandated that insurers reduce copayments and deductibles for ACA exchange enrollees earning less than 250% of
7900-626: The prevalence of COVID-19 misinformation on social media, saying it was "killing people". Despite months of vaccine availability and incentives, by September many Americans continued to resist vaccination amid rising cases in several states, hampering prospects towards herd immunity . On September 9, Biden stated, "We've been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us." That day he issued an executive order directing businesses with more than 100 employees to require vaccination of their workers or weekly testing, affecting about 80 million Americans. The order also required
8000-500: The record set by Ronald Reagan . Biden entered office amid the COVID-19 pandemic , an economic crisis , and increased political polarization . He withdrew his bid for a second term in the 2024 presidential election due to low popularity and concerns over his age and health . He is to be succeeded by Trump in January 2025, who won the aforementioned election. Day one actions of his presidency included restoring U.S. participation in
8100-584: The relief plan. Biden signed the Plan into law on March 11, 2021, passing through both chambers of Congress with a party-line vote . Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act ( ACA ), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( PPACA ) and colloquially as Obamacare , is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Together with
8200-417: The rest goes to grants for small businesses and transit agencies; $ 400 billion for a national vaccination plan and school reopenings; and $ 10 billion for information technology, modernizing federal cybersecurity infrastructure. In her first press briefing, press secretary Psaki said the plan was likely to change as negotiations continued, with the provision to increase the minimum wage later being excluded from
8300-519: The roughly 17 million employees of health facilities receiving federal Medicare or Medicaid to be vaccinated. Many Republicans asserted Biden's order was an unconstitutional overreach of federal authority, and some Republican governors said they would sue to block it. The Biden administration responded to the global spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in December 2021 by advocating response by
8400-593: The states instead of the federal government. Throughout the surge, the Biden administration has been criticized for a lack of COVID-19 tests , exacerbating the spread of the Omicron variant. When questioned about the apparent shortage of tests, Jen Psaki replied, "Should we just send one to every American? Then what happens if every American has one test? How much does that cost and what happens after that?", causing backlash. The Biden administration responded by promising an increased supply of at-home tests later in 2022. In
8500-445: The status quo. The Biden administration rescinded work requirements for Medicaid recipients. The administration opened a special enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act as well as extending the normal enrollment period, citing the COVID-19 pandemic. The administration provided larger premium subsidies. In August 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 . The law allocates $ 64 billion for
8600-421: The strongest economic recoveries in United States history, breaking a 70-year record for low unemployment, and the creation of over 16 million new jobs, the most of any single term president. Biden's political legacy is considered to be damaged by the re-election of Donald Trump in 2024, with Biden's unpopular tenure leading to support for his former opponent. Joe Biden officially announced his candidacy for
8700-659: The then current mayor of Boston, as his Secretary of Labor . Biden altered his cabinet structure, elevating the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers , director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy , and ambassador to the United Nations as cabinet-level positions. Biden removed the director of the Central Intelligence Agency from his official cabinet at the onset of his presidency, but he restored it to
8800-421: The total federal government debt grew to $ 34.4 trillion after having grown by approximately $ 1 trillion in both of two separate 100-day periods since the previous June. The Build Back Better Plan was a proposed framework of public investment in social, infrastructural, and environmental programs. It was eventually divided into three parts. The American Rescue Plan was focused on COVID-19 pandemic relief, and
8900-445: The withdrawal from Afghanistan, and remained low as the country experienced high inflation and rising gas prices, even as they would eventually reduce over his presidency. His age and mental fitness remained a frequent subject of discussion throughout his presidency, ultimately culminating in his late decision to not seek re-election. Despite this, Biden oversaw the strongest economic recovery of any G7 nation post COVID-19 and one of
9000-417: Was completely repealed as part of H.R.1865 - Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. Excise taxes totaling $ 3 billion were levied on importers and manufacturers of prescription drugs. An excise tax of 2.3% on medical devices and a 10% excise tax on indoor tanning services were applied as well. The tax was repealed in late 2019. The State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment process
9100-621: Was established by Executive Order 13987 . The task force disbanded in May 2023 when the COVID-19 emergency officially ended in the United States. In July 2023, the Biden Administration created the Office of the Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy to help prepare the United States for the next pandemic. Presidency of Joe Biden Joe Biden 's tenure as the 46th president of
9200-403: Was intended to encourage insurers to compete based on value and efficiency rather than by attracting healthier enrollees. Of the three risk management programs, only risk adjustment was permanent. Plans with low actuarial risk compensate plans with high actuarial risk. ACA revised and expanded Medicaid eligibility starting in 2014. All U.S. citizens and legal residents with income up to 133% of
9300-551: Was merged with elements of the American Jobs Plan to form the Build Back Better Act , introduced in September 2021. This passed the House of Representatives , but failed to pass the Senate . Continued negations led to the a new proposal, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 which included proposals addressing climate change, healthcare, and tax reform proposals while excluding Build Back Better's social safety net proposals. This
9400-485: Was named as deputy chief of staff. Biden selected Antony Blinken to be secretary of state, Linda Thomas-Greenfield as ambassador to the United Nations, and Jake Sullivan as national security advisor. On November 23, 2020, Biden announced Alejandro Mayorkas to be his choice for Secretary of Homeland Security and Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence . Throughout December and January, Biden continued to select cabinet members, including Marty Walsh ,
9500-547: Was passed and signed into law in August 2022. The administration also pursued lower drug prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices it pays and capping the price of insulin . In 2024, Biden pushed to limit junk fees through the FTC, FCC and CFPB . Biden took antitrust more seriously than presidents in recent memory, as seen by the work of Lina Khan at the FTC , a historic court victory against Google's search monopoly , and
9600-674: Was passed and signed into law in March 2021 as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 . The second part called for investment in infrastructure and addressing climate change , and was called the American Jobs Plan. Elements of the American Jobs Plan were the basis for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act , signed into law in November 2021. The third part, the American Families Plan, proposed investment in social policies, such as paid parental leave . The American Families Plan
9700-435: Was simplified. Beginning September 23, 2010, dependents were permitted to remain on their parents' insurance plan until their 26th birthday, including dependents who no longer lived with their parents, are not a dependent on a parent's tax return, are no longer a student, or are married. Businesses that employ fifty or more people but do not offer health insurance to their full-time employees are assessed additional tax if
9800-494: Was the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 , a $ 1.9 trillion stimulus bill that temporarily established expanded unemployment insurance and sent $ 1,400 stimulus checks to most Americans in response to continued economic pressure from COVID-19. He signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act , a ten-year plan brokered by Biden alongside Democrats and Republicans in Congress to invest in American roads, bridges, public transit, ports and broadband access. Biden proposed
9900-508: Was to be paid to a hospital and a physician group for a defined episode of care (such as a hip replacement ) rather than separate payments to individual service providers. The Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) was established by section 3022 of the Affordable Care Act. It is the program by which an accountable care organization interacts with the federal government, and by which accountable care organizations can be created. It
10000-411: Was viewed as a compromise between the progressive and moderate flanks of the Democratic Party . The Biden campaign described the public option as a "plan to protect and build on ObamaCare ". However, shortly before taking office in January 2021, Biden's team abruptly dropped the proposal, frustrating many online progressives who already viewed the public option healthcare proposal as a failure to fight
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