US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan 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 resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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 Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict 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 does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one 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 backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting 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 patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
