US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media 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 Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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 wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke 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 taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "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 consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
