Last week on Current I drew some connections between Obama and Biden. Today John Harwood of CNN does the same. Here is a taste of his recent piece:
With sweeping economic recovery plans, President Joe Biden seeks his own legacy like the New Deal or Great Society. But he’s also bolstering Barack Obama’s.
In multiple ways, Biden has used his first 100 days to reinforce the battered foundations of Obamacare. He exercised executive authority to invite more of the uninsured to buy Affordable Care Act coverage, expanded marketing to encourage them and provided larger premium subsidies as part of his $1.9 trillion Covid relief legislation.
More than 500,000 Americans have already taken advantage, according to figures the administration released last week. With the special enrollment period now extended through August 15, to be followed by normal annual enrollment beginning in November, the number obtaining coverage in ACA marketplaces could soon top its all-time high of 12.7 million during the last year of Obama’s presidency.
For its original architects, who spent the last four years watching then-President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans try to wither and wipe out Obama’s signature program, it represents a deeply satisfying revival.
Read the rest here.
