US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the US 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 postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session 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 HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed 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 public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict 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
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
