American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend session got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program 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 response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition senators shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
Not one 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 backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
