Biden signs executive orders to expand access to health care

US President Joe Biden on Thursday signed two executive orders aimed at expanding access to health care.

The orders will undo the damage that former US President Donald Trump did to the US health-care system, Biden told reporters.

The Biden administration plans to open a special enrolment period to make it easier for people to sign up for the Affordable Care Act, the Obama-era health-care law that aimed to provide millions of uninsured people with health-care coverage.

"For President Biden, this is personal. He believes that every American has a right to the peace of mind that comes with knowing they have access to affordable, quality health care," the White House said in a statement.

Biden will also issue a Presidential Memorandum to expand women's access to reproductive health care. Among the moves is an end to the global gag rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits international non-profits that offer abortion counselling or referrals from receiving any funding from the US.

Illegal abortions

Women's rights groups have long argued that the rule negatively impacts women and leads to an increase in dangerous and illegal abortions.

Trump and his administration had frequently attacked the Affordable Care Act, also known popularly as Obamacare, and implemented policies that aimed to thwart its implementation.

The Trump administration had also reinstated the global gag rule, which the Reagan administration first enacted in the 1980s.