US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed 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 HSA-style 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.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, 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 wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club 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 failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
