US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first 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 recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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 Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed 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 health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off 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 indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
