US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal 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 money sucking 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 wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to 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 displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments 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 sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
