[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]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 68 / Friday, April 8, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 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

[[Page 20691]]

(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