US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend session got started, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the 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.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same unsuccessful 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 dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
