US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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 wrote.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement 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 stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
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 legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
