WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Enrollment for the Affordable Care Act reopened on Monday, giving as many as 15 million uninsured Americans access to assistance in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The special enrollment period that the White House rolled out will be open until Saturday, May 15. Uninsured Americans can sign up for health care coverage online at healthcare.gov.
President Joe Biden says the timing of the rollout couldn’t be more critical. He’s also encouraging Congress to pass his $1.9 trillion COVID aid package quickly.
“I know better days are ahead,” President Biden said.
While the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump was underway last week in the Senate, House committees spent hours working to craft the next relief bill.
“The reason I wasn’t able to watch more of it was because we have been hard at work in mark-ups,” Rep. Abigail Spanberger said.
The Virginia Democrat introduced a bipartisan bill to help small businesses during the pandemic. But Virginia Republican Rep. Rob Wittman says the process hasn’t been bipartisan.
“And it doesn’t appear as though the process going forward is intended to be bipartisan,” Wittman said.
When Congress returns next week, they’ll have just three weeks to get the package done before unemployment benefits expire on March 14.