There were bound to be changes with the new Biden administration, and the first two weeks have brought many. Here are the healthcare, climate and equity policy changes as well as descriptions of the new Biden Administration and its COVID-19 strategy. 

Under the Biden administration, there are two main things that have changed immediately in healthcare:

1. Expanding Obamacare
   1. Giving it back to those who lost it in the last year, and reversing the Trump administration’s executive orders that limited access to Obamacare following unemployment
2. Reproductive healthcare access
   1. Increasing abortion access by allowing funding to the United Nations Population Fund to start again, something that was withdrawn during the Trump administration

What this means for EMU students is that if you lost Obamacare access during this pandemic, you may be able to enroll again. This new enrollment period goes from Feb. 15 until May 15 of this year. This information was taken from the New York Times article, “Biden signs orders aimed at expanding health care access, including abortion, and opening Obamacare enrollment.”

There were two main things that changed with energy sector jobs:

1. Pausing leases on oil and gas rigs 
   1. This is to decrease oil and gas production, and perhaps in the future, decrease the amount of new oil and gas rigs that are built. 
2. Sets an intention to invest more into “green” jobs
   1. This doesn’t mean that there will be millions of sustainable jobs overnight; it does mean that there will be a very different job market in a few years. This is also to create jobs for the workers that would be working in oil and gas. 

What this means for EMU students is that perhaps gas prices will go up in the short term. In the long term, jobs in the energy sector will look dramatically different than they do now. This information was taken from the New York Times article, “Biden, Emphasizing Job Creation, Signs Sweeping Climate Actions.”

As directly quoted from The Washington Post, there were 4 executive orders that will seek to do the following):

1. Strengthen anti-discrimination housing policies 
2. Halt new Justice Department contracts with private prisons
3. Increase the sovereignty of Native American tribes
4. Combat violence and xenophobia against Asian Americans and Pacific islanders

What this means for EMU students is that while these are strong statements but not actions yet, the fight for equal rights on a racial and socioeconomic level will continue. 

This information was taken from the Washington Post article “Biden signs orders on racial equity, and civil rights groups press for more.”

The COVID-19 pandemic is still raging on, and one of Biden’s key campaign promises and goals for the early presidency is to get the pandemic under control in the U.S. 

These are the 6 main updates (summarized from the New York Times):

1. Nationalized mask mandate on public transportation and in federal facilities
2. New guidelines on reopening schools and businesses
3. Increased quarantine times for international travelers
4. Push for swift vaccine distribution (though it is not yet known how this will be done)
5. Overall, to increase Americans’ trust in scientific experts and communicate more regularly about the state of the country
6. Increase testing capacity

What this means for EMU students is that the rhetoric coming from the White House will sound different than it has for the past few months. Hopefully the strategy of consistent communication will decrease stress for those who were frustrated with unpredictable changes in recommendations. This information was taken from the New York Times article, “Biden Unveils National Strategy That Trump Resisted.”