US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend session got under way, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the 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 posted.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted 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."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters 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 ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to address 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 reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
