US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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 posted.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to 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 response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
