What Biden's Election Means For U.S. Health Care And Public Health

As of Jan. 20, 2021 — Inauguration Day — the federal government is about to get much more involved in health care and the COVID-19 pandemic response. Exactly how much more involved, now that Joe Biden is president-elect, depends on whether Republicans keep control of the Senate. And that likely won't be determined until early January, when Georgia's two Senate run-off races are held.

Trump's nearly four years as president have been marked by a scaled-back federal investment and involvement in health care in a range of ways — giving states more authority to run their own health insurance markets, for example, and leaving them to come up with their own strategies for COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and more.

Biden's pledge during the campaign was to reverse that trend. He wants to double-down and invest in the changes the Affordable Care Act made to the country's health care system, he says. He wants to pour trillions into a unified coronavirus strategy. And he wants to work with Congress to create a Medicare-like public insurance plan that anyone can buy into — what he's called the "public option."

Here's a guide to his policy platforms and promises related to health care. Again, how much he's able to deliver on will in some cases depend on what happens in the Senate.

ISSUE: The Affordable Care Act

Starting Tuesday, long before Biden is inaugurated in January, the Supreme Court about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The court's