US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
