American 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 end the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend session got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is 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 posted.
GOP Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward 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 suggestion on social media, 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 public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core 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 doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
