American 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 end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media 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 wrote.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None 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 legislators need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single 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 returned to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
