American 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 floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending 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 posted.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, 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 patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers 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 idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand 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 backing in 2017.
