US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, 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 suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic senators shared concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated 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 insurance companies by writing: "Oh, 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 finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
