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 diminish as Republican senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting 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 health savings 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly 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 addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators shared concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
