US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies 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.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to a large print 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 must stop public funds 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 Response
Opposition senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, 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 failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA 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 continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, 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 version of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
