Executive Order 13997

Last updated

Executive Order 13997
"Improving and Expanding Access to Care and Treatments for COVID-19"
Seal of the President of the United States.svg
Type Executive order
Executive Order number13997
Signed by Joe Biden on January 21, 2021 (2021-01-21)
Federal Register details
Federal Register document number 2021-01858
Publication date21 January 2021
Summary
Ameliorating and increasing access to COVID-19 care and treatment.

Executive Order 13997, officially titled Improving and Expanding Access to Care and Treatments for COVID-19, was signed on January 21, 2021, and is the thirteenth executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden. The order works to ameliorate and increase access to COVID-19 care and treatment. [1]

Contents

Provisions

In consultation with the Director of the National Institute of Health, this order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to draw up a plan to support new studies to identify the most promising treatments for COVID-19 as well as future threats to public health, to develop a plan to promote research in rural hospitals, and to study its impact on patients' health for the long term. This order also directs the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to offer urgent support and to set forth objectives for production, assignment, and distribution of COVID-19 treatments in critical and long-term care institutions. In addition, the ordinance instructs the HHS secretary to provide advice on how to enhance the capability of their health care workers to states and medical providers. Lastly, the order stipulates that the Secretary of the HHS should assess obstacles to maximizing the effective and fair application of COVID-19 treatments in order to promote successful COVID-19 insurance coverage, including the assessment of Medicare, Medicaid, and health insurance plans. [2]

Effects

The order will lead to new strategies for accelerating the development of COVID-19 treatments and improving access to high-quality, affordable healthcare by the HHS and the National Institutes of Health. Several federal ministries and agencies will deliver vital and long-term care services in a targeted way. The HHS will likely provide guidance on how states and healthcare providers may enhance the capacity of their healthcare workers. Finally, this order might lead to the government prioritizing investment in easily administered and extended treatment through research and development funding. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medicaid</span> United States social health care program for families and individuals with limited resources

In the United States, Medicaid is a government program that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by state governments, which also have wide latitude in determining eligibility and benefits, but the federal government sets baseline standards for state Medicaid programs and provides a significant portion of their funding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Department of Health and Human Services</span> Department of the US federal government

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of the U.S. people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America". Before the separate federal Department of Education was created in 1979, it was called the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act</span> United States federal law concerning health information

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is a United States Act of Congress enacted by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1996. It aimed to alter the transfer of healthcare information, stipulated the guidelines by which personally identifiable information maintained by the healthcare and healthcare insurance industries should be protected from fraud and theft, and addressed some limitations on healthcare insurance coverage. It generally prohibits healthcare providers and businesses called covered entities from disclosing protected information to anyone other than a patient and the patient's authorized representatives without their consent. The bill does not restrict patients from receiving information about themselves. Furthermore, it does not prohibit patients from voluntarily sharing their health information however they choose, nor does it require confidentiality where a patient discloses medical information to family members, friends or other individuals not employees of a covered entity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health Resources and Services Administration</span> United States government agency

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located in North Bethesda, Maryland. It is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Azar</span> American attorney, businessman, lobbyist and pharmaceutical executive (born 1967)

Alex Michael Azar II is an American attorney, businessman, lobbyist, and former pharmaceutical executive who served as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services from 2018 to 2021. Azar was nominated to his post by President Donald Trump on November 13, 2017, and confirmed by the United States Senate on January 24, 2018. He was also chairman of the White House Coronavirus Task Force from its inception in January 2020 to February 2020, when he was replaced by Vice President Mike Pence.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is a staff division of the Office of the Secretary, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ONC leads national health IT efforts, charged as the principal federal entity to coordinate nationwide efforts to implement and use the most advanced health information technology and the electronic exchange of health information.

Healthcare in the United States is largely provided by private sector healthcare facilities, and paid for by a combination of public programs, private insurance, and out-of-pocket payments. The U.S. is the only developed country without a system of universal healthcare, and a significant proportion of its population lacks health insurance.

Patient navigators educate and assist United States citizens in enrolling into health benefit plans stipulated in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Patient navigators are also called "insurance navigators" or "in-person assisters" who have defined roles under the ACA. Although their roles might overlap, patient navigators are not community health workers or health advocates. "Navigators" work in states with Federally-Facilitated Exchanges (FFEs) or State Partnership Exchanges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders</span> United States governmental office

The White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) is a United States governmental office that coordinates an ambitious whole-of-government approach to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. The Initiative collaborates with the Deputy Assistant to the President and AA and NHPI Senior Liaison, White House Office of Public Engagement and designated federal departments and agencies to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AA and NHPIs in the areas of economic development, education, health and human services, housing, environment, arts, agriculture, labor and employment, transportation, justice, veterans affairs, and community development.

Change Healthcare is a provider of revenue and payment cycle management that connects payers, providers, and patients within the U.S. healthcare system. The name also refers to a company founded in 2007 which subsequently became part of the current conglomerate. The company operates the largest financial and administrative information exchange in the United States.

Health care analytics is the health care analysis activities that can be undertaken as a result of data collected from four areas within healthcare; claims and cost data, pharmaceutical and research and development (R&D) data, clinical data, and patient behavior and sentiment data (patient behaviors and preferences,. Health care analytics is a growing industry in the United States, expected to grow to more than $31 billion by 2022. The industry focuses on the areas of clinical analysis, financial analysis, supply chain analysis, as well as marketing, fraud and HR analysis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive Order 13813</span> Executive order from 2017

The Executive Order Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition, also known as the Trumpcare Executive Order, or Trumpcare, is an Executive Order signed by Donald Trump on October 12, 2017, which directs federal agencies to modify how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of the Obama Administration is implemented. The order included a directive to federal agencies to end rules forbidding employers from using health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to pay individual insurance premiums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Palm</span> American health advisor (born 1973)

Andrea Joan Palm is an American government health advisor who is the United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration. Previously, Palm served as secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services from 2019 to 2021 in the administration of Governor Tony Evers, an office she was never sworn into due to Republican opposition in the Wisconsin Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic</span> Actions by the U.S. federal government regarding the COVID-19 pandemic

The federal government of the United States initially responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country with various declarations of emergency, some of which led to travel and entry restrictions and the formation of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. As the pandemic progressed in the U.S. and globally, the U.S. government began issuing recommendations regarding the response by state and local governments, as well as social distancing measures and workplace hazard controls. State governments played a primary role in adopting policies to address the pandemic. Following the closure of most businesses throughout a number of U.S. states, President Donald Trump announced the mobilization of the National Guard in the most affected areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandy Cohen</span> American internist and health official (born 1978)

Mandy Krauthamer Cohen is an American internist, public health official, and healthcare executive serving as the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since July 10, 2023. She was previously the executive vice president at Aledade and chief executive officer of Aledade Care Solution, a healthcare company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social policy of the Joe Biden administration</span> Overview of the social policy of the Biden administration (2021-present)

The social policy of the Joe Biden administration is intended to improve racial equity, increase access to safe and legal abortions, tighten restrictions on gun sales, among other aims. A number of policies aim to reverse the former policies of President Donald Trump, including the "Muslim" travel ban and loosened anti-discriminatory policies relating to LGBT people.

Executive Order 13996, officially titled Establishing the COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board and Ensuring a Sustainable Public Health Workforce for COVID-19 and Other Biological Threats, was signed on January 21, 2021, and is the twelfth executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden. The order indicates that the United States should assemble the COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board and guarantee a sustainable public health workforce to fight against the COVID-19 virus and other biological threats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 vaccination mandates in the United States</span> Mandates for people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine mandates have been enacted by numerous states and municipalities in the United States, and also by private entities. In September 2021, President Joe Biden announced that the federal government would take steps to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for certain entities under the authority of the federal government or federal agencies. Most federal mandates thus imposed were either overturned through litigation, or withdrawn by the administration, although a mandate on health care workers in institutions receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds was upheld. All federal mandates were lifted when the national emergency was declared to have ended in May 2023. A small number of states have gone in the opposite direction, through executive orders or legislation designed to limit vaccination mandates.

The Biden administration COVID-19 action plan, also called the Path out of the Pandemic, is a substantial increase in the use of vaccination mandates as part of the U.S. federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic announced by President Joe Biden on September 9, 2021, to be carried out by officials in the Biden administration. The plan included various announced prospective efforts, as well as the issuance of several executive orders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive Order 14070</span> Executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden

Executive Order 14070, officially titled Continuing To Strengthen Americans' Access to Affordable, Quality Health Coverage, was signed on April 5, 2022, and is the 86th executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden. The telos of the order is to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable, high-quality health care.

References

  1. "Executive Order 13997: Improving and Expanding Access to Care and Treatments for COVID-19". Homeland Security Digital Library. January 26, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  2. "Improving and Expanding Access to Care and Treatments for COVID-19". Federal Register. January 26, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  3. "Executive Orders". Cornell Law School. January 25, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.