US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators welcomed 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 HSA-style 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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds 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
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
