US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan 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 resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending 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.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised 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 taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators 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 core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
