US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend session got started, GOP 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 replaced by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the 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 alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended 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 am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, 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 defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, 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 Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
