US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by HSA-style 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 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 welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, 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 posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "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 health care they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate 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 dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage 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 replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove 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 repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
